Adventure of a Lifetime
by AntlanX
Summary: I was supposed to be playing a video game, but I guess that I was sucked in somehow. Now I'm in this place to defeat a threat known as Moo... - Set in the Anime world. Hopefully better than it sounds.
1. The Awkward Beginning

**Disclaimer: _I don't own Monster Rancher, nor do I own any of the characters in this story...except for one..._**

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It all started with a new prototype game that I'd won from a tournament. What kind of tournament? Well, it was a battle of the monsters; basically, teams of gamers who had trained monsters from the game "Monster Battle" participated in battles to get to the top. I managed to get to the finals, where I battled against a guy with a Golem – a monster made of pure rock – and I used an Antlan – a humanoid insect-like monster – and it was a close fight.

I barely managed to win; at the last few seconds, I pulled off a powerful attack that KO'ed the other guy's monster instantly. I received a plaque for my successful efforts in gaining first place and was told that I would be sent the newest game – a prototype that was not available anywhere else – and to check my mail often.

After several days, I nearly lost hope…but, one day, I decided to check my family's mailbox, thinking that it wouldn't have arrived that day either.

Much to my surprise, there was a package addressed to me in there! I stared in awe for a few minutes before snapping out of my trance. I grabbed the package and rushed to my house.

When I got inside, I rushed up to my bedroom. I heard my mom call out my name from the kitchen, greeting me and telling me to slow down. I called out an apology before making it to my room.

I sat down in front of my playstation system and opened the package. Indeed, the game was inside! I pulled it out and gazed at it, mesmerized. This was it…the game that I had been waiting for! I hurriedly opened the case, took the disc out, opened my playstation drive, and placed the game disc inside. I closed the system, turned it on, and turned on the TV as well.

I waited for the usual game company logos to appear and fade before the game started up. I watched the intro before the scenes changed to a girl, a boy, a Mocchi, and a Suezo running from some sinister-looking monsters that I didn't recognize. I listened to their in-game conversation, watching anxiously as they ran towards what appeared to be a giant temple of some sort.

Suddenly, a message popped up, asking if I wanted to go into the shrine. With little hesitation, I selected, "Yes", and the characters ran into the building.

Inside the shrine, the girl pulled out a disk of some sort from her bag and shouted to the boy, Mocchi, and Suezo to protect her while she set up the Mystery Disk. The three nodded and the girl placed the disk into place before running back to a control panel.

A message saying, "Insert disk" popped up and I opened the system before removing the game disk and placing a random disk inside the system and closed it. Mere seconds later, another message said to place the game disk back into the system, and I complied.

I waited as the girl closed her eyes, placing both hands on a giant button and paused as the disk began to spin, gradually spinning faster and faster as energy crackled around it.

So eager was I that I didn't notice the controller in my hands glow faintly. I took in a deep breath, waiting…

I pressed the 'accept' button on the controller and shouted at the same time the girl on the screen did:

"_**Unlock!"**_

No sooner had the words left my mouth did the screen of the TV glow brightly and I felt a strong pulling sensation. I didn't even have time to move or utter anything else before I was pulled into the screen, falling…

xxx

After what seemed like hours, I finally landed harshly on my back. I slowly sat up, rubbing the pained area before commenting, "Maybe I should limit my gaming time…"

I opened my eyes to see the four standing there, shocked, before the Suezo remarked, "That's not a Phoenix…You win some, you lose some, I guess…"

…_Am I seeing things correctly? The Suezo, Mocchi, and humans are standing in front of me…Did I get sucked into the game…?_

I must've been paralyzed by fear, as I found myself unable to move or speak. After a minute, the boy commented, "You're an Antlan, aren't you?"

Suddenly, a deep, raspy voice echoed throughout the shrine.

"It doesn't matter what it is; we'll stop you from finding the Phoenix!"

The five of us looked up to see Black Dinos standing in the doorway, blocking off our escape.

"This is as far as you get!"

With that, the Black Dinos rushed forward, jaws open wide to attack. As the boy, Mocchi, and Suezo dashed to counter, the girl ran up to me. She kneeled down to my height before saying, "We need to get out of here…Can you fight?"

_I don't even know these people! I only saw them from the introduction of the game! What should I do…?_

"…I…I don't know how…"

I mentally kicked myself at how timid my voice sounded, and the girl glanced back at the battle. I glanced back at the skirmish as well.

A few of the Black Dinos had been knocked unconscious, and the boy suddenly spun and raced towards us at an unnatural speed. He grabbed both of us, raced back, grabbed the Mocchi, and dashed out through the doorway.

"We're outta here!"

I glanced back; the Suezo hopped angrily after us, shouting, "Oh, sure, leave ME behind!"

I held back a grin and faced forward as the boy carried three of us out of the shrine.

xxx

After what seemed like hours, we stopped at a clearing in a forest, exhausted. As we sat down to rest, the boy flashed a grin at me before introducing himself.

"I know that we didn't have time to say anything about ourselves earlier, but I'm Genki."

"I'm Holly."

"Suezo's the name."

"Mocchi! Mocchi!"

…_So the monsters don't have human names…I guess I'll have to go along with it…_

"…My name is Antlan. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

I looked at the four of them before curiosity got the better of me.

"…What were you guys doing before we met?"

Holly smiled slightly.

"Well…we had found a disk and we were hoping that the Phoenix was inside, but…"

She gestured towards me.

"You were inside the disk instead."

…_The Phoenix?_

Now I was eager to learn more.

"…What's the…Phoenix?"

At this, Holly beamed.

"The Phoenix is a mystical bird that can turn Baddies into Goodies. We need to find it to defeat Moo and bring peace to the world."

This information confused me.

_Baddies? Goodies? Moo? This doesn't make much sense to me…_

"So, wait…What's a Goodie and what's a Baddie?"

"We're Goodies. The Baddies are monsters turned evil by Moo."

_This is starting to make some sense, at least…But…_

"…So…Moo is trying to take over the world…and you guys are trying to stop him?"

"Yes, we are."

_This is exactly what the introduction to the game sounded like! Holly, Genki, Mocchi, and Suezo must be the heroes of the game…and if that's true…maybe…_

"…Take me with you!"

Everyone made sounds of surprise, shock marking their faces. Holly spoke up first.

"Are you sure? Moo's incredibly strong…"

I stood up, determined.

"It doesn't matter! Moo shouldn't be allowed to get away with what he's doing! I'll help you bring peace to this world!"

A large smile formed on Genki's face.

"All right! Welcome to the team, Antlan!"

I smiled back as everyone else cheered.

_Even though I'm not a human in this world, I'll do my best to fight for justice!_

_

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_

**Author's Note: _This is my first fanfic...so please don't flame me. If I can improve on anything, let me know. Also, I do have plans to continue this story...if anyone likes it, at least..._  
**


	2. Guardian of the Disks

**Disclaimer: _I don't own Monster Rancher, nor do I own any of the characters in it. I only own one character in this fanfic, though..._**

**A/N: _I would just like to thank my lone reviewer (so far). Thank you, RockyRoadSmith! Your review encouraged me to write this chapter._  
**

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"The nearest Mystery Disk to us is…in that direction!"

I marveled at the miniature phoenix on the stone as it pointed in a seemingly random direction. It was a stone that Holly carried around her neck and kept concealed beneath her shirt, and she used it to sense Mystery Disks nearest to her – or us, rather, as the case may be – which made me stare in awe. She had used it to find my disk…

"Hey, all right! Nothing's gonna stop us in our search for the Phoenix!"

I looked back at Genki, who had gotten in a leadership pose. He seemed to be a little odd at first, but then I realized that he just had too much energy to just stay in one place. He was a natural-born leader, too…

"Mocchi hungry!"

Holly and I sweatdropped as Genki and Suezo fell over.

"When are you ever NOT hungry, Mocchi?"

I smirked as Suezo poked the top of Mocchi's head with his tail.

"Let's have a little look here…There must be something to eat in all this stuff that I brought…"

I glanced back at Genki. He was sitting on the ground, rummaging through the contents of his backpack. I smiled at this. After all, Genki was the leader; he was responsible for everyone, and he was doing a very good job so far…

Mocchi giggled and clung to Genki's back, hoping that the boy would have something good to eat…

…However, Genki only pulled out what seemed to be a small chip of some sort.

"…This is all that I have…"

Mocchi fell onto the grass, tears in his eyes.

"…Chi…"

Genki got up and got into his leadership pose again.

"Aw, come on! Forget about it!"

As we walked, I heard Mocchi mumbling hungrily behind me. Holly spoke up.

"Well, we'll have to eat something sometime…"

I heard Suezo chime in, "Maybe some…bacon…waffles…those cute little baby pancakes…"

I glared at him, despite the fact that he couldn't see my stare; he was making _**me**_ feel hungry with his input.

Eventually, we made it to a fork in the path. One way led into a forest and the other just seemed to be an endless road into the mountains. We looked to Holly for directions, and her stone pointed to the path leading into the forest.

"My magic stone pointed in this direction."

Genki smiled and walked forward.

"Let's go!"

As we followed him, I noticed an elderly lady walking on the path opposite of us, heading in the direction that we had come from. She seemed to notice us as well.

"Hey! Are you going down _**that**_ road?"

Holly nodded.

"Why, yes, we are."

The lady turned away slightly, waving her hand dismissively.

"Oh, no. You don't wanna go down that road."

"But why shouldn't we?"

"Because an enigma lives in the forest down that road!"

Genki looked towards the forest.

"…An enigma…?"

"…Will it make us lunch…?"

I glanced at Mocchi.

…_He must really be hungry…_

Genki continued to look at the forest, confused.

"…What's an enigma?"

"You'll find out!"

With that, the elderly woman continued her trek down the road as we stood on our own path, wondering…

"What do we do?"

Holly's voice was filled with concern, but Genki crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"I'm not scared of any enigma. Come and get me, ya big, fat, scary enigma monster!"

Suezo interjected, "If you ask me, life is full of enigmas, and you're the biggest enigma of them all~!"

"Chi~!"

Genki bowed his head in thought.

"It's a problem…"

Suddenly, his eyes opened and he got a crazed look on his face.

"The enigma monster is probably laying in wait for us just around that bend in the road."

I gave our leader an, 'Are you serious?' look while everyone else appeared to be frightened by his sarcasm. Genki laughed.

"Don't worry; we'll be through those woods in five minutes."

xxx

_Well, it's been over five minutes…_

As we continued to walk, I began to question Genki's sense of direction.

I heard Suezo's mocking tone of, "We'll be through those woods in five minutes," and sweatdropped as I heard our leader reply, "I, uh, thought we'd take a detour. You know, there's so much to see."

Holly inquired, "Is 'detour' another word for 'lost'?"

"Go ahead and laugh if you like. We're on the right road."

Suddenly, he stopped walking and turned to us, eyes closed.

"Unless, of course…"

His eyes opened and that crazed look returned on his face.

"We meet the _**ENIGMA**_~!"

Everyone else shivered at this, but after a minute, we continued our trek.

After what seemed like hours, the forest became darker than it already was; it must have been nighttime already. I could sense that everyone's moral had lowered quite a bit…

Suezo muttered, "I know we've been here before."

I could hear Holly's fear-filled voice as she spoke.

"I think we've been here _**twice**_ before…"

Suddenly, Genki leapt at us, shouting in a creepy voice, "I'm the enigma, come to eat all of you little monsters up!"

At this, Holly and Mocchi shrieked slightly as fear crossed their features. I sweatdropped and Suezo screamed, "Enough enigma talk!"

Genki didn't seem fazed at all, and he crossed his arms, thinking.

"You know…we still don't know what an enigma is."

He turned around, still in thought.

"It could be any kind of monster at all."

Suezo asked, "What's the worst kind of monster?"

"The very worst kind of monster…"

Genki slowly turned to us, a demonic expression on his face as he shouted, "Always lives in a HUGE, SPOOKY CASTLE!"

However, at the last part of his sentence, the rest of us had glanced away from our leader. Fear overtook us, and I heard Suezo stutter, "Huge, spooky castle…?"

There, in front of us, was what appeared to be some huge, scary building of some sort. I pointed at it, shivering.

"…Does that qualify?"

Genki looked at where I was pointing before commenting, "…Yeah…that's one spooky castle."

There was a short pause before I heard Holly speak in a frightened voice.

"That's all I can take! I'm out of here!"

We watched as she turned and started to walk away, only to be stopped at the sound of thunder above us as lighting flashed. At this, she whimpered, walking backwards to us.

Suddenly, we heard a soft, low hum, and Holly reached into her shirt. She pulled out her magic stone.

"The stone is telling me…a Mystery Disk _**is**_ nearby!"

We watched as the miniature phoenix pointed at the large building. We stared at it in terror as lighting flashed and thunder boomed above us once more.

"I just knew we were on the right track!"

We turned to look at Genki as he leapt foward.

"So, let's go!"

"…But…"

Genki grabbed Holly's hand.

"Let's _**go**_!"

He pulled her with him as he ran towards the building, leaving us monsters behind.

"Now _**we**_ have to go with them and get eaten too!"

"…Chi…"

"…Wonderful…"

With that, we ran after them.

xxx

We wandered through the castle, keeping close to each other as to not get lost…and for comfort. I heard Suezo mutter, "No good can come of this…"

Despite the terrified feeling that I had, I forced myself to walk as we continued to trek through the building in silence.

However, we suddenly heard sounds of…something…and we heard Suezo mutter, "Told ya…"

We stopped walking and gasped. The sounds were getting closer…but from where?

"Everyone, get into a circle!"

We quickly formed a circle, facing outward as to not expose ourselves to any attacks. The sound slowly got louder and louder, and Suezo stated the obvious.

"It's coming!"

I wanted to hit him over the head, but held back from doing so; that might leave us open to attack, and I didn't want to risk it.

"Is this the end for us…?"

I opened my mouth to say something comforting, but stopped as the sound got incredibly loud; whatever it was, it was close.

Genki shouted, "Stay away!"

Suddenly, lightning flashed, and we saw it.

A large, humanoid rock creature stood in front of us, and everyone froze before screaming in terror.

It was then I noticed what it was, and I opened my mouth to speak.

"A Golem!"

Lightning flashed again as both Genki and I shouted what it was. The Golem made a strange noise – an attempt to roar? – and lightning flashed again as we stared. Soon, the Golem turned and walked in a different direction, leaving us stunned.

"Genki, let's follow."

"Uh…okay…"

We carefully kept a distance as we followed the Golem. Where was he going? Where was he leading us? We didn't know, but we could only hope…

Soon, we were outside in the darkness. However, the clouds overhead chose to drift away and the light of the moon slowly illuminated the area.

What we saw nearly made my heart stop. What appeared to be disks – nay, stone disks – were littered everywhere. Some were held up by roots, and others were laying on the ground. We gasped, and I had a feeling of dread. I might not have known what these stone disks were or why they were there, but I shivered at the sight of them. Somehow, I knew…these disks weren't mystery disks. I could feel tears starting to form as I stuttered.

"…This…this is…"

"…Antlan? Are you okay…?"

I looked at Holly, suddenly feeling very weak and frightened as I looked into her concerned eyes.

"…Holly…what…what is this…?"

Holly bowed her head and closed her eyes.

"At one time…these were all monsters…"

I heard Genki shout, "What?"

I turned to look at the stone disks again, listening as Suezo explained.

"Once they're here, they can never be revived…Not even in the shrine…"

…_Never be revived…? Does that mean…?_

I looked down at my feet, feeling depressed.

"…Never…revived…"

I could sense Holly's worried stare.

"…Antlan…"

I heard Genki growl.

"Is that big guy responsible?"

"…I don't know…"

I looked up at the Golem, as did everyone else. The giant monster turned to us, slowly making his way towards us. The rest of us stood behind Genki, feeling fear. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Did you put all these monsters here?"

There was a long pause; the Golem didn't answer.

"Tell me!"

The Golem walked forward once more.

"Back off!"

We stepped backwards as the Golem came closer. When he got close enough, he kneeled and reached out…

…Only to gently touch a flower that Genki had been standing on. There was a long pause.

"…The flower…"

After a minute, there was a cold breeze and Mocchi muttered, "Mocchi chilly."

The Golem stood up and made his way back towards the castle. We watched before he made a signal for us to follow. With little hesitation, I slowly trudged after him.

"Antlan…!"

I ignored Holly's cry of surprise. I heard Genki say, "Let's go."

With that, I heard everyone else following close behind me as I followed the Golem.

…_I can't be around those stones anymore…_

xxx

"In the old days, there was a great battle. Very fierce. Many were hurt."

I watched the Golem as he spoke. He had told us his name; Golem. He had been kind enough to take us into his home – even after the accusation of him possibly putting the stone disks there – and he had been kind enough to build the fire that we sat around. When I first heard him speak, I had been surprised; his voice was so calm and peaceful.

I sadly looked back at the stones through some of the broken wall, muttering, "…Those disks…they're…"

Holly interjected, "Each disk was a monster."

Suezo nodded, "There must be thousands and thousands of stones."

"I guard the stones. It is my duty. Forever."

I looked back at Golem.

_Forever guarding the stones? How sad…he must be…lonely…_

"Guarding rocks in a field. What a job."

Golem turned to Suezo and gave a sound of disapproval.

"Kidding! Just kidding! Don't mind me…"

The eyeball monster chuckled nervously. Golem spoke again.

"The stones need me. I guard, I watch. For all time."

I looked up at him.

"…You guard them…all by yourself…?"

He nodded.

"It is my duty."

I frowned.

"…You must be lonely…"

As Genki and I spoke that statement simultaneously, Golem quickly stood up.

Suezo said nervously, "Y'know…maybe we should go now…"

"Tonight…you…stay here…please…"

We watched as Golem wandered off. Slowly, Genki and Holly unpacked the blankets and I helped them set up our makeshift beds.

One by one, we began to doze off…

xxx

I woke up to the feeling of the sunlight on my face. As my eyes opened, I realized that Golem wasn't with us. It wasn't long before I heard his footsteps slowly getting louder.

_It sounds like he's outside…_

I got up and walked up to the large hole in the wall, waiting. Soon, I heard Genki get up, yawning as he walked up next to me. Golem came into view, his hands cupped as if he was holding something. Genki and I watched as he kneeled in front of a flower and slowly parted his hands slightly. Water slowly trickled from his hands; he was watering the flower.

Suddenly, a bird flew down and landed on his shoulder. He smiled as more birds flew down and landed on him, chirping happily. I smiled at this.

_Golem is a kind and gentle monster at heart…It's a shame that he lives here alone…_

"C'mon, Antlan. Let's wake everyone else up."

I turned to look at Genki and nodded. We walked over to the others and shook them gently, whispering for them to get up. Holly and Mocchi woke up, but Suezo was reluctant. After a bit of coaxing from Holly, he finally got up, grumbling.

I assisted Holly and Genki as they packed up the blankets. Soon, Golem entered the room. He had a neutral look on his face, but I knew that he was saddened that we would leave and he would be alone again. No words were said, but he motioned for us to follow him. He led us outside and pointed in a certain direction.

"Take that path straight ahead. You will be safe."

Everyone turned to look at him, smiling.

"Thanks, Golem."

Suezo spoke up, "Y'know…why don't you come with us, big fella?"

At this, Golem looked uneasy. Holly nodded.

"We're on a great journey to discover the mystery disk that the Phoenix is hidden in."

"What is…Phoenix?"

"A wonderful bird that can turn Baddies into Goodies."

I nodded.

"We could really use your help, Golem."

Suezo grinned, "Yeah, we could use some protection – "

"Fighting…You mean fighting! I won't do it; it is wrong!"

We stared, shocked, as Golem turned and walked back into the building. There was a long pause before I heard Genki say, "Let's go."

With that, we took the path that Golem had told us to go on. As we got further and further away from the building, I couldn't help but think about what Golem said.

_Fighting is wrong…I know that it is. But we don't have a choice…Moo is planning to take over the world…and we have to stop him! Even if it means that we have to fight him…_

After a few minutes, we made it outside of the woods.

"Finally! No more forest!"

"Golem was all right!"

There was a short pause before I heard Mocchi ask, "Is Genki sad?"

I looked up. Genki seemed to be as deep in thought as I had been.

"You know what? I keep thinking of Golem all alone…"

_…Golem…_

"Just being there, day after day, with nothing around him but disks…"

"Genki…"

"I asked him! I asked him to come along, but he said, 'No.'"

There was a short pause.

"Hold on…The Phoenix! Of course!"

We stopped walking and turned to look at Holly.

"The Phoenix can do more than turn bad monsters into good monsters; it can take the lost disks and turn them back into living monsters!"

"You mean…"

"We find the Phoenix, it fixes the monsters, and then…"

"Yes! Our friend, Golem, will be free!"

I stared, stunned, before smiling.

Genki shouted, "Look out, Phoenix! Here we come!"

I pumped my fist into the air.

"Yeah!"

"Chi!"

I heard Suezo mumble, "That's easy as pie…"

With that, we marched forward…

"Hey, watch it!"

We looked down to see that Genki had stepped into some blue puddle of some sort.

"A talking puddle?"

We fell back as the puddle rose up and formed into a humanoid shape. The humanoid creature yawned before saying, "That was a nice sleep."

It looked around for a moment before asking, "Where is everybody…?"

Suddenly, it panicked and screamed, "AUGH, THEY'RE ALL GONE! I'VE BEEN LEFT BEHIND!"

At this point, Genki got up, glaring and growling at the creature, who paused before asking, "And who might you be?"

Genki replied, "No, who are **_you_**?"

After quickly analyzing the creature, I knew what it was.

"It's a Jell!"

"Don't get too close! Genki, it's one of Moo's awful slime troops!"

At Holly's warning, I noticed the crest around the Jell's neck.

_That's one of Moo's Baddies?_

"Actually, we prefer to be called, 'Moo's Evil Jell Troops', if you would be so kind."

"Whatever, Jell-man!"

"We're here to take the monster mystery stones from the Golem's forest…But I overslept!"

At this, the Jell started to cry. I sweatdropped.

_…He sure doesn't act like a tough Baddie…_

The Jell perked up and pointed at us, shouting, "So, to redeem myself to my captain, I think I'll capture all of you!"

Mocchi rushed forward and started punching the Jell in the stomach.

Sadly, his attacks had no effect on the Jell; the monster laughed before picking Mocchi up with one hand.

"You look all stressed out, little one."

The evil monster effortlessly tossed Mocchi behind him and into a nearby rock wall. I watched in terror as Mocchi slid down the rock surface. The Jell laughed until he noticed something…

…A large stone that had been on the rock wall slowly slid down…

The Jell only had time to scream and turn to run before getting squished by the giant stone. Only his head, his torso, and his left arm were sticking out from underneath the rock.

We stared as the Jell cried for help, and Suezo stated the obvious.

"That's…gotta hurt."

We looked at each other before nodding. As everyone took hold of the Jell's free arm and started to pull, I heard Genki speak.

"Tell me why we're doing this again…"

I frowned.

"It's the honorable thing to do, Genki."

He looked back at me, confused. I continued.

"Even though he wouldn't do the same for us, it proves that we're honorable and kind enough to help those in need. That's what makes us Goodies."

He stared at me for a moment before nodding and we resumed our efforts to pull the Jell free. Soon, we pulled him free, but the power that we had used to free the Jell was more than enough to send him flying behind us.

The Jell got up, pointed at us, and shouted, "You'll pay for this!"

The evil monster proceeded to turn and run towards the forest.

"I just knew that slime would run!"

Suezo laughed before muttering, "Slime ball!"

Genki, however, turned to Mocchi and I.

"Golem's in trouble. We have to go back!"

Mocchi and I nodded.

"Let's go!"

xxx

As we ran through the forest, I couldn't help but feel concerned.

_Golem's not a fighter, is he? He has to fight back against the Jells, though! If he doesn't…_

"There! There's the building!"

Golem's home came into view, and we pushed ourselves to run faster. If Golem was in trouble, he needed our help. We couldn't just leave a friend behind…

Genki was in the lead; he had put on his rollerblades to give him the speed that he needed. The rest of us were somehow caught up behind him, but I could tell that everyone else was losing speed and that Genki was getting further ahead. One human alone wouldn't be able to help Golem…

_If Genki gets there before any of us do and he can't defeat the Jells on his own…_

I felt a sudden burst of energy, somehow bypassing Genki – much to everyone's confusion – and raced forward.

"Antlan…!"

I glanced back at our leader.

"Golem needs our assistance; we need to get there as fast as possible!"

"But…!"

I forced myself to run faster as everyone else tried to keep up. I made it to the yard filled with stone disks within mere seconds…

_What?_

I skidded to a halt as I saw several Jells pulling at the stone disks, prying them from the roots that held them and tossing the disks into a pile.

_…Oh, no…_

I held back tears as I watched the Jells. What they were doing was wrong…what did they want with the disks anyway? They couldn't be revived…right?

_…Wait…!_

I looked around for our large friend…

…Only to find him crudely tied to the ground.

"Golem!"

I instantly regretted my shocked outburst. The Jells stopped what they were doing and looked at me. They stared at me, and I suddenly felt smaller than I already was.

_I can't be timid now! I have to be strong!_

"And who are you?"

I emitted a growl in response.

"What do you think you're doing? These stone disks don't belong to you! Release Golem at once before – "

"Before what?"

I then realized that I should have kept my mouth shut; the Jell troops easily outnumbered me and could easily defeat me within seconds. I sweatdropped.

"…"

"Antlan!"

The Jell troops watched as I looked back.

"Genki!"

Everyone else skidded to a halt behind me as they saw the scene.

"What…?"

"The Jells are planning to take the stone disks! They have Golem tied down!"

Everyone looked at the downed rock monster before Genki turned to the Jells and growled.

"You'd better…let him go, or you'll be sorry!"

"Really? And who'll be sorry when I'm done with you?"

At the commander's rhetorical question, the Jell troops laughed.

I growled, but Genki obviously had more than enough.

"**_Stop it!_**"

The Jells suddenly stopped their laughter, shocked. Genki continued.

"You should be ashamed! There's nothing funny about this at all! You are a bunch of pitiful slime blobs!"

"You Jells have no honor! To commit such a horrible deed, you must be nothing but cowards…dishonorable cowards!"

At our speeches, the Jells merely yawned, disinterested and unmoved. The commander looked just as bored.

"Lovely speeches. Just lovely."

Soon, the commander pointed at us.

"Now! Get 'em!"

The Jell troops rushed forward. Genki emitted a battle cry as he ran towards a Jell, fist extended as he landed a punch into the Jell's abdomen…

…Only to be flung backwards into one of the taller roots holding up a stone disk seconds later.

"Genki!"

I looked back at Holly and Suezo just as two Jells blocked their way.

"Holly!"

I ran towards them, only for another Jell to stop in front of them to prevent me from reaching them. However, I didn't stop; as I got closer, I suddenly twisted my body and extended a foot towards the Jell in an attempt to kick him in the chest. As my foot made contact, the sheer force of my attack made my foot push the Jell's chest inward quite a bit, and at first, I thought that I got him…

…Only for me to get flung back into another root holding another stone disk. I fell onto the ground, my back and thorax burning in pain. I opened an eye to see Mocchi punching the Jell commander in the stomach several times before the commander finally smacked the pink monster away.

_…We can't win…_

It was true; none of our attacks were strong enough to actually do any damage to the Jells. No matter what we tried, our attacks just bounced off – quite literally, actually – and it seemed that all was lost…

I closed my eyes, clenching my teeth.

_…It can't end this way…_

Suddenly, I heard a low hum sounding through the area.

_…Huh…?_

I opened my eyes slowly.

_That noise…_

It was then that I noticed that Golem – who had seemingly been forgotten – was glowing slightly, and the low hum was emitting from him. I stared in shock as he struggled to sit up, roaring as he broke the ropes with ease. He slowly stood up, his once kind eyes replaced with a cold, blank stare.

After a few seconds, the Jell commander slid forward.

"You, my friend…are resisting – "

Golem let out a fierce roar as he swung a giant fist into the Jell commander, sending the Baddie flying into a large root that was holding up a stone disk. Seconds after the evil Jell made contact with the root, he hit the ground and transformed…

_No…!_

Everyone else stared in shock; the leader of the Jell troops was no more. There was a long pause.

"…Uh, captain…? …WE'RE DONE FOR!"

With that, the Jells started to retreat…

However, Golem rushed towards them with amazing speed, swing his giant fists at the Jells, turning them into stone disks one by one.

I forced myself to stand, terrified. Soon, one Jell was left. I watched, frightened, as the poor monster pressed himself up against the wall of the building as Golem slowly closed in on him.

"…M-m-m…Mercy…!"

I heard Genki shout, "No, Golem! That's enough!"

I cried out, "Golem, please, no…!"

Our cries were ignored; Golem let out a roar as he swung. The Jell screamed in terror…

…There was a cloud of dust as the giant rock monster's fist collided with the wall. When the dust cleared, a stone disk was just barely inside the building, held up by roots. We stared in shock at what had just taken place.

After a minute, Golem turned around to look at us, and I noticed that his eyes had returned to their kind, gentle state.

"What's going on? Where are the Jells?"

"They're all gone, Golem…"

"…You've made them Lost Monsters…"

At Suezo's statement, Golem looked shocked. He looked at the newest additions of the stone disks. Soon, he fell to his hands and knees, obviously saddened. His eyes slowly filled with tears.

"I've done a terrible, terrible thing. Lost Monsters…more stones…"

We watched sadly as Golem shed one lone tear…

…However, it landed on a flower that had not yet blossomed. Seconds after the tear made contact, the flower opened up, creating a beautiful scene. I stared in awe and realized that there was more than just one of those flowers on the ground…

_Those flowers…his tears…that means…_

I looked back up at Golem, smiling. Genki walked forward and placed a hand on Golem's shoulder. The giant rock monster looked up at him.

"Those flowers…each one is a tear you've shed, isn't it?"

There was a pause.

"Come on! Cheer up, Golem! The Phoenix will turn each of these disks into a good monster!"

"Right! It's an ancient legend from my village!"

"Of course, we have to get the Phoenix first. Come on! Join us!"

I nodded.

"You'll be a great member of our team."

A confused look crossed Golem's face. Soon, he looked at Genki and I, almost as if he was studying our faces…

…Or our eyes.

After a few minutes, he stood up. We looked up at him, waiting…

He smiled down at us before nodding.

At this, everyone cheered.

"Well…you can call me Genki."

"My name is Holly."

"Suezo here!"

"Mocchi!"

"And I'm Antlan."

Genki held out his hand. Golem stared, confused at first, before re-introducing himself.

"My name…is Golem."

With that, he held out an index finger to Genki, to which he grasped. They shook hands – well, Golem's finger and Genki's hand – and from then on, I knew; Golem would be an excellent friend.

We made our way out of the forest and walked in the direction of the sunset.

_I wonder…what else will be in store for us?_

_

* * *

_

**A/N: _I know that this was a 'slightly modified' episode of Guardian of the Disks_**_**, but I will work harder with the next episode.**  
_


	3. Eternal Worm

**Disclaimer: _I do not own Monster Rancher, nor do I own any of the characters...I do own one character in this story, though..._**

**A/N:** _**Thank you for your encouragement, RockyRoadSmith! I'll do my best to get more chapters done.**_

* * *

"Holly, are you sure that there is a mystery disk around here?"

"Well, my magic stone seems to think so…"

"C'mon, where are you?"

Holly, Mocchi, and I watched as Genki and Suezo dug into the ground to find the mystery disk that Holly's stone had led us to. I stared as they continued to dig, increasing their pace.

…_I should be helping them…_

The truth was that the shovels were too big for me to handle by myself, seeing as I was smaller than Genki but slightly taller than Mocchi (not including my horns), so Genki had told me not to worry about it. Now he and Suezo were trying to find the mystery disk.

…_I should be doing more to help…_

I glanced at the ground, frowning.

…_But I still don't know how to fight…in case something happens, I won't be able to defend…_

Suddenly, there was a crash, and I quickly looked up.

Suezo and Genki had crashed into each other while digging; Genki held his head while Suezo's eye expression had changed into a swirl. Genki recovered first and growled.

"Hey, watch where you're going, Suezo!"

"Why don't you watch where you're going, Genki?"

I watched as they began to yell at each other. I bowed my head, closed my eyes, and sighed.

"They should really learn to chill out a bit."

I heard Holly giggle slightly. I opened my eyes as I heard Mocchi yawn and watched as he slid down underneath Genki and Suezo, who were now glaring at each other.

"…I'm hungry…"

Genki and Suezo looked down at the pink monster, stunned. Golem walked up to us, holding up several strange-looking vegetables by the roots.

"Here. Eat this, Mocchi."

Mocchi gave a cry of happiness, grabbing one of the vegetables and pulling it off of the root.

"Thank you! Chi!"

Golem gave a big smile, happy that he had done a good deed. He continued to hold up the vegetables, motioning for the rest of us to take some. I watched as Genki and Suezo both grabbed one and began to eat.

"What about you, Antlan?"

I looked back at Golem.

"Huh? …Oh…"

I realized that Golem wanted all of us to take one to eat…right?

"…You sure?"

He nodded. I didn't want to seem ungrateful, so I reached out and took one.

"Thank you, Golem."

He smiled at me, and I smiled back before taking a bite of the vegetable.

…_Wow…!_

Whatever the vegetable was, it tasted wonderful! However, I didn't want to be rude and devour the vegetable quickly, so I took small bites and chewed slowly. Soon, Golem sat down and Mocchi took it upon himself to sit on the giant monster's ankles while he ate. I found myself looking down at the vegetable that I was eating and slowly lost myself in thought.

…_I'm a monster in this world…So why don't I know any attacks? Why am I unable to fight? If I'm a part of this team, I have to contribute…but how…?_

"So, Golem…What made you decide to come with us? When I invited you, you said you couldn't."

"…Eyes…"

At this answer, Suezo laughed loudly before commenting, "Oh, _**eye**_ see!"

Soon, I felt Golem's gaze on me. I looked up to see him gazing at both Genki and I.

"…Golem…?"

"Golem, you're staring."

"You have…clear eyes…Genki…Antlan…"

Both Genki and I stared back, confused.

I heard Suezo chuckling, "Oh, I get it. They're kids and _**I'm just an eyeball!**_"

After his outburst, Mocchi screamed and started to cry. We rushed over, concerned.

"Whoa, what happened?"

"It wasn't…me…?"

Mocchi pointed to what appeared to be the pit of the vegetable.

…_That can't be right…the vegetables don't have pits…_

Suddenly, the vegetable cracked and fell apart, revealing…

"A mystery disk!"

Genki rushed over, hugging Mocchi tightly.

"Oh, Mocchi, you found a mystery disk! Oh, you're the greatest!"

The energetic boy leapt up onto the top of Golem's head, laughing.

Suddenly, the area was cloaked in a strange, pink cloud.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

…_That scent…_

I heard Mocchi give a quick, quiet yawn before I heard him fall over. I glanced back as I heard Holly's concerned voice.

"Mocchi…?"

"If you'll all excuse me if I…goodnight…"

I glanced back at Suezo, who fell over, asleep.

"Me…too…"

I looked back at Holly, who had collapsed.

"Holly…!"

Suddenly, I realized what the scent was.

_Some sort of sleeping pollen…!_

However, I realized this too late; I started to feel drowsy…

With a quiet yawn, I fell to my hands and knees before collapsing completely.

…_No…_

Soon, everything faded into darkness…

xxx

I found myself slipping back into consciousness as I heard Genki's yells of pain. Confused, I opened my eyes.

…_Genki…?_

I watched as our leader jumped around, holding his head as he continued to yell. I noticed movement out of the corner of my vision and glanced in that direction.

…_Plants with lipstick…?_

"They've woken up!"

"Lighten up; it's not _**my**_ fault."

I stood up, staring at them…

…_Wait! Moo's crest! They're Baddies!_

"You…you're working for Moo!"

I heard Genki shout, "What?"

Everyone else turned to look at the plants as they spoke.

"Sort of. We find mystery disks for Moo and he really appreciates it."

"Well, not this time, you won't!"

At this, the plants smirked, and one of them spoke.

"Oh, goodie, this is my favorite part. Guess why they call us the Seed Sisters!"

Their flowers closed into sharp points and seeds shot out at us. Genki, Suezo and I dodged the seeds until…

…_Golem…?_

Golem ran in front of us, blocking the seeds from hitting us.

"Golem?"

"You…can…escape…"

We looked up at our giant friend.

_He's…protecting us…_

"Suezo, Antlan…Follow me!"

I looked back at our leader. He obviously had a plan, so I nodded and ran after him with Suezo following me. We found a long vine that we tied to two trees as Genki whispered the plan to us…

We quickly found some more supplies for our plan, and I smiled. This would really help us stop those seeds…if only for a moment…so that all of us could escape.

As we finished, Genki and I held on tightly to a vine, waiting…Soon, we heard Suezo's command for us to fire.

"Okay!"

We released the vine, and we watched as our weapon worked; the makeshift catapult flung a large boulder forward. We watched as it flew over Golem and heard the screams of the Seed Sisters as the boulder landed on one of them.

"Genki…Suezo…Antlan…_**In the zone!**_"

Mocchi giggled, and Holly smiled before Golem scooped them up and ran towards us.

"C'mon! Let's go!"

With our leader's command, we rushed off to find a shrine.

xxx

I marveled at the sight of the relics of the shrine. Sure, I had been in a shrine before, but I didn't have the time to actually look at where I had been unlocked…

I watched as Genki put the disk in place.

"The disk is in place."

"Mocchi's ready, too!"

"Okay…C'mon, Phoenix…we're ready~!"

Holly started up the machine. Everyone else watched as the shrine got brighter; there was so much energy crackling in the air…

"Unlock!"

Before the disk had a chance to unlock the monster inside, a whip came out of nowhere and wrapped around the disk, stopping the unlocking process. Everyone stared in shock.

…_What…what's going on…?_

We turned to watch as the disk was pulled back behind us…

…Only for it to land in the hands of a boy that looked much older than Genki.

"Hey!"

"What's the big idea?"

"Give that back! That mystery disk is ours!"

The boy gave us an evil grin before turning and running.

I heard Genki yell, "Stop!"

However, the boy kept running.

"My name is Genki! You hear me? Genki!"

Suezo screamed at our leader, "Guess what! He doesn't really care!"

Genki put on his rollerblades, and I knew that he would go after the boy, so as our leader dashed forward, I followed close behind.

"Oh, yeah…Genki's in the zone…"

We made it out of the shrine, and Genki slid down the railing as I merely leapt down, not bothering to use the stairs.

The boy looked up at us, smirking.

Genki shouted, "You're busted!"

We landed several feet in front of the boy, who merely cracked his whip.

Genki taunted, "Oh, no…the little thief has a big, scary whip~!"

However, the ground started to shake, and Genki fell over; the wheels on his rollerblades didn't provide much traction for him to stay still.

"What was that…?"

The boy cracked his whip again, and the ground slowly rose up before breaking and revealing…

"Oh, no…a Worm!"

The giant Worm roared before crashing down in front of us.

"Genki, we have to scatter!"

Genki looked at me for a moment before nodding. We took off in different directions, and the Worm didn't know which one of us to go after; we were both moving targets, and it couldn't go after both of us at once.

"You may be big, but not quick!"

The Worm stood there, confused. However, the boy with the whip cried, "What are you doing?"

The whip cracked several times, and the Worm started to tunnel under the ground…

…Or so it seemed.

Its tail pointed straight at me, and I gulped nervously.

…_What…what does it plan to do?_

Suddenly, the point of the Worm's tail shot out several times; it was shooting sharp stingers at me like missiles! I quickly dodged as several stingers shot at me.

I heard the boy shout, "Useless monster!"

I continued to dodge, but I heard Genki yell, "Hey, kid, I'm your problem! Not him!"

"Use the poison!"

The worm stopped shooting at me and turned to Genki.

_Poison?_

I raced towards Genki; there was no way that he would be able to dodge whatever poisonous attack the Worm would fire. Humans didn't have the natural speed and agility that monsters had, and I wasn't human; I was a monster now.

Genki turned towards the Worm, confused, as the Worm opened its mouth…

I pushed Genki out of the way just as liquid poison spewed from the Worm's mouth. I wasn't fast enough in dodging this attack, and I got hit by the poison in full force.

As I screamed in pain, I heard Genki shout, "Antlan!"

I heard him dash towards me as I collapsed.

"Get them!"

"Antlan…!"

I opened my eyes to see Genki kneeling at my side.

…_Genki…_

Suddenly, the both of us were flung into the air by the force of the Worm pushing the ground up beneath us; it must have tunneled under the ground to attack us!

I felt a giant hand grab me and hold me against something hard.

…_Golem…?_

I heard Golem running – he must have saved us – and I heard Genki's protests to let him go back. I closed my eyes and tried not to focus on the pain. I was grateful that Golem had jumped in when he did; Genki could have been injured…

…_And I could've been hurt much worse than I am now…_

After a few minutes, I felt Golem stop running. He gently lowered both Genki and I to the ground, and I heard everyone else rush over, asking if we were okay.

"I'm fine. Antlan saved me from the poison."

The areas where the poison made contact with my body didn't burn as much as they had before, but I was still in a moderate amount of pain. I opened my eyes slowly and, much to my surprise, everyone was looking down at me, concerned.

"…Are you okay, Antlan?"

I forced myself to sit up, attempting to shrug off the pain.

"I'm fine. But we have to get our mystery disk back."

"That kid didn't look like one of Moo's thugs to me…"

"It doesn't matter."

We turned to look at Genki.

"Who cares who he is?"

"What…do you mean…?"

"Didn't you see? That kid…! What kind of a person would beat on a monster? It's not right…"

We watched as our leader leapt onto a tree root that had grown out of the ground.

"Genki…"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to find that kid, and I'm going to get that mystery disk back."

"He's pretty tough…"

Our leader looked back at us, a look of determination on his face.

"Yeah, well, I'm not scared of him! A maniac like that shouldn't be allowed around monsters!"

I stared at him, amazed.

…_He's right…nobody should be permitted to treat us monsters like that! Humans and monsters should be working together and in peace…not treating each other like slaves!_

After a few minutes, everyone else started to discuss a plan on how to get the mystery disk back. I realized that Genki hadn't been making any suggestions, so I glanced back at him…

…He seemed to be sneaking off with Mocchi, but caught me looking at him. He put a finger to his lips and motioned for me to follow him. I was caught off guard, but silently nodded and quietly followed him away from everyone else.

xxx

After a while of searching, we found a tree house of some sort. The kid who had stolen our mystery disk was at the top, and he threw down some sort of potato at the Worm who had been silently watching at the bottom of the tree.

"Hopeless Worm! I thought I told you to pick only the ripe ones!"

The Worm gave a sound of disappointment, and Genki growled. Having seen enough, he leapt out of our hiding spot and ran forward a few paces.

"Hey, you! Stop it!"

The thief looked down, shocked.

"Who says so?"

"Says me, that's who! Who do you think you are, treating monsters like that?"

Mocchi and I ran up to Genki, standing by his side.

"Chi!"

"…"

The boy laughed before Genki said, "Pathetic."

At this, the boy stopped laughing and glared down at us.

"Watch it, kid! Don't push me! I could crush you just like a Worm!"

"Try it!"

"They're just monsters, kid. You use them and then throw them out when you're done."

"You're wrong!"

Suddenly, we heard giggling.

"…Huh?"

We looked in the direction of the laughter.

"What a surprise! Sister, look who's back again!"

"We…meet again."

The boy in the tree house glared at the Seed Sisters.

"And just who are you?"

Genki growled, "They're only weeds."

The boy suddenly smirked.

"You're the Seed Sisters, and you work for Moo!"

"Oh, you've heard of us. How delightful!"

"There are three of us, but our other sister is temporarily indisposed."

"Yeah. No thanks to Junior here."

The boy turned around and went into the tree house, grabbing something before jumping down.

"Awesome!"

He landed on top of the Worm, holding both his whip and…

_Our mystery disk!_

"Alan's the name, and I'm gonna join Moo. Oh, by the way…I don't intend to come empty handed. That's why I'm bringing you this!"

We stared in shock as Alan showed the Seed Sisters the disk. The two plants seemed to be delighted.

"That's so…delightful!"

"A gem~!"

Genki shouted, "Get real! Moo's a big cheeser! You don't wanna join him!"

Mocchi nodded, "Cheesy, chi!"

Alan yelled, "Be quiet!"

With that, he swung his whip and used it to pull on a lever underneath his tree house. A net appeared from above and fell on top of us, preventing us from moving.

One of the Seed Sisters laughed, "I love it!"

Alan laughed as the net pulled up. As we struggled, I knew that we were trapped…and we could do nothing about it.

xxx

Eventually, Alan and the Seed Sisters had tied us up. I kept my head bowed as they laughed, but I was seething on the inside.

_I should've seen this coming…I should've done something to prevent this!_

"Aw, don't look so sad. Your friends will be joining you shortly."

I glared at the ground, not looking up at _**them**_; doing so would give them a reaction that I had no intention of giving, so I kept my head lowered. Genki, however, didn't know that and growled at them.

The Seed Sisters laughed at Genki as Alan and the Worm wandered off to find the others. The Baddies taunted us once more before leaving to follow Alan. Now alone, the three of us sat in silence for a moment, and I figured that Genki was trying to formulate a plan.

"…Hey, Antlan…"

"…Hmm?"

"…Why did you save me back there? From the Worm's poison, I mean…"

There was a short pause before I lifted my head to look at Genki.

"…What?"

"I mean, you could have ran away from the Worm instead of pushing me out of harm's way and – "

"No."

He looked confused at my interruption. I turned away, not looking at our leader.

"Friends don't just leave each other, Genki. They protect each other from harm, even at the risk of their own life…Friends would do anything for each other…I protected you because you're an important human to us – not just our leader – and I'm glad that we're friends. It was the honorable thing to do, and I'm sure that you would've done the same for me…"

There was a long pause.

"…Chi…"

"…Antlan…"

"So sorry to keep you waiting!"

The three of us looked up to see Holly and Suezo tied up as well. Golem was unconscious, so the Worm was forced to drag him and leave him behind the tree. Holly and Suezo were placed next to Genki, and the Seed Sisters and Alan laughed at our misfortune.

"Revenge is soooo sweet~!"

Genki frowned.

"Y'know, Alan…you're making a big-time mistake."

Alan smirked. However, the Seed Sisters grinned maliciously, and I knew that whatever they had planned, it wasn't good…

"Ya think? Thanks, kid."

One of the Seed Sisters roughly pushed Alan forward and he turned slightly, confused…

Suddenly, the Seed Sister reached out and grabbed both the whip and the mystery disk from Alan's grip. Everyone else stared in shock.

Alan ran back a few paces from the Baddies and turned to look at them, glaring.

"Hey! What's the idea?"

"Alan, darling, can you spell, 'O-V-E-R'?"

"Whaddaya mean?"

"As in we're taking this stone to Moo, and your role in this is over~!"

Alan blinked before yelling, "You two tricked me!"

He quickly turned to the Worm.

"Get them!"

However, the Seed Sister had one more trick.

"Now, Worm, you have to decide…Allegiance to the Friends of Moo…or to the cruel person who beats you…"

Alan looked shocked and confused, sweatdropping.

The Worm stared, pondering…

"Moo is definitely a nasty person…but he won't mistreat you like this one seems to do!"

"No doubt Moo would value a fine, upstanding monster like yourself who obviously has so much potential~!"

Alan shouted impatiently, "Come on! Don't just lie there! Do something! You belong to me!"

The Worm stared, contemplating…

"Help me!"

With that, the Worm made its decision…

…By crawling behind the Seed Sisters.

"Good boy. I'd like to welcome you to Moo's nice, little, happy family."

Genki spoke up.

"See what I mean, Alan? This is how the Moos operate!"

The Seed Sisters backed up, one of them shouting, "All right, Worm…Show time!"

The Worm reared up, roaring, before tunneling underground. It promptly raised the ground beneath us somewhat, and we made cries of terror before the ground beneath us fell back down. Alan had fallen just in front of us, surprised and frightened.

The Worm arose from the around, its tail facing us, and I had a feeling of what would happen.

The Seed Sisters laughed before one commented, "Just a little payback for our dear sister!"

Alan looked terrified, and crying out in a weakened voice, "C'mon…you're my monster, remember?"

One of the Seed Sisters uttered those two dreadful words…

"Get 'em."

On command, the Worm shot stingers at us, and we cried out, horrified.

The Seed Sisters laughed at our cries, and I closed my eyes, expecting our demise…

…Only to feel the vines that had been tied around us fall off, apparently sliced by the stingers. I opened my eyes to make sure…and the vines had, indeed, been cut by the Worm's stingers.

I stood up, crying out happily, "We're free!"

Genki stood up and turned to Alan, who had bowed his head, depressed.

"Alan…!"

Alan looked at him, shocked, before looking forward.

"…My…Worm…"

However, the Seed Sisters were furious.

"Agh!"

"They've escaped!"

"You missed them on purpose!"

"Bad boy!"

The Seed Sisters pushed the Worm onto its side, pushing it further along the ground. Genki had already put on his rollerblades, dashing towards the plants. When he got close enough, he leapt up and landed on the Seed Sisters, forcing them to drop the mystery disk.

"Holly, grab the mystery disk!"

"You got it!"

I ran to Alan, who was at his Worm's side, tears in his eyes.

"Oh, Worm…"

"Alan, please…you have to help us!"

Genki ran next to me, looking at Alan with a determined expression on his face.

"This is your chance to make it right!"

I suddenly felt something hit me hard in the back, sending me to the ground. Genki and Alan followed soon after; the Seed Sisters had gotten up and attacked us!

Suddenly, I heard strange *splat* noises and the Seed Sisters shouted, "Contact!"

"Let's do it!"

Alan got up first, crawling up to his Worm, hugging it the best he could and looked into its eyes.

"…Worm…"

"Begin the transformation~!"

Genki and I looked up. The Worm and the Seed Sisters began to glow, and I noticed that energy seemed to be going from the Worm into the Seed Sisters.

_They're draining the Worm's life force!_

I heard Alan say in a quiet, saddened voice, "…Worm…I'm sorry…"

Genki and I had taken action; he tried to pull the Seed Sisters' flowers off of the Worm while I tried to cut them off with my horns…

…Alas, our efforts were futile; the Worm was shrinking slowly, and Genki and I couldn't stop what I feared would happen…

Soon, the Worm disappeared in a small burst of light…

…Only to be replaced with a stone disk, held up by roots. I stared, on the verge of tears. Alan seemed to be close to tears as well; he was shivering and didn't speak.

…_I…I failed…_

The Seed Sisters laughed at our shocked and horrified expressions.

"How moving…"

I heard Genki shout, "_**I'm in the zone!**_"

I looked up as our leader gave a battle cry and rushed forward towards the evil plants.

"Stop laughing!"

His fist made contact with one of the Seed Sisters, stopping their laughter. I suddenly felt a surge of anger and dashed towards them, joining Genki in attacking the evil plants for what they had done. Soon, I heard everyone else rushing to join in. Not long after, I heard Alan's own battle cry…

xxx

After the battle, we made our way to the Shrine again. Genki put the mystery disk in place and walked back next to Holly. We waited as the process started up, and watched in awe as the monster unlocked…

xxx

We found Alan back by his Worm's stone disk, standing there, unmoving. We waited for a few minutes behind him before Genki spoke up.

"It's unlocked."

No response.

"He's yours…if you promise to be real good to him."

Alan slowly turned to us, curious. Genki continued.

"He's pretty small now, but don't worry; he'll grow."

Suezo and I moved away from each other, no longer blocking what was in Holly's arms.

"Cute, huh?"

Alan turned around completely, his eyes shimmering.

"…A Worm…? …For me…? …You sure…?"

Holly nodded as the rest of us smiled…

…Alan silently shed two tears; he was grateful. Holly handed him the baby Worm, and he took it into his arms gingerly.

"…Thank you…"

We said our goodbyes, and turned to leave.

After we were quite a distance away from Alan, I heard Suezo speak.

"You think Worm-boy's gonna do better this time?"

"You saw his face, didn't you?"

"Yeah, he's definitely gonna be all right."

There was a long pause.

"That was kind of fun, I guess, but now it's time to find the Phoenix."

"Yes…Find the Phoenix…"

"And release all Lost Monsters from their disks."

I laughed as Genki cheered, "All right!"

* * *

**A/N: _I hope that I'm doing better this time. I actually (sort of) like how this chapter turned out, so...yeah..._**


	4. Tiger of the Wind

**Disclaimer: I don't own Monster Rancher. I do own one character, though.**

**A/N: Sorry for the long hiatus. I will resume my writing as fast as possible.**

**

* * *

**

Holly took out her magic stone and started to concentrate…

…Only for the stone to fall back into her hands. She opened her eyes and frowned.

"C'mon! Give me some concentration room, okay, guys?"

Everyone else – who had been mere inches away from her and waiting impatiently to see where the stone pointed – ran back quite a distance, leaving Holly standing by herself. She sweatdropped at our action.

"Ha, ha…very funny…"

She closed her eyes and concentrated again, this time getting a result.

"The closest mystery disk to us is…in this direction!"

We looked in the direction of where the stone was pointing and Genki leapt forward, getting into his leadership pose as usual.

"Let's go!"

xxx

As we continued traveling, the scenery around us changed from a forest area to what appeared to be a canyon of some sort. Genki was the first to speak.

"It looks just like the wild west – "

"You mean the cowboy movie?"

"Yup! I reckon I do, pahdnah!"

"…Uh…'pahdnah'…?"

"Yippie-kai-chi~!"

Holly put a hand to Genki's forehead, as well as her own.

"He's had too much sun."

Genki pulled away and climbed up the nearest rock wall, standing proudly and grinning.

"Listen up! You pilgrims have a mighty long ways to go, and I aim to getcha there!"

We stared at him blankly as he continued.

"So, saddle 'em up, and let's move 'em out!"

"…Definitely sunstroke…"

"Chi!"

Genki suddenly stopped his act, a shocked look on his face. He quickly looked to his left…

"…What's the matter?"

"…I thought I saw something…"

"Uh-huh…"

We turned to our right, looking around…

"…Well…_**we**_ didn't see anything…"

There was a short pause.

"Whatever. Genki, let's go."

"Chi~!"

We continued our trek forward. Soon, a strong gust of wind blew against us. Genki put a hand on the top of his hat; he didn't want it to blow away. I struggled to stay on my feet; the gust _**had**_ been pretty strong, which I thought was a little unusual.

As the wind continued to blow, some sand flew across our path, and, as I looked forward, I noticed two figures in the distance. I heard Genki speak up.

"…What's that…?"

The wind ceased, and I realized that the figures were getting closer…

Soon, they came into full view; two canine creatures slowly crept towards us, growling ferociously. I heard more growls from above us and glanced upward; we were outnumbered!

"This doesn't look good…"

"Maybe they're okay…"

"It looks like the Wild Bunch…"

Genki and I looked back at Suezo, confused.

"…Wild Bunch…?"

Holly nodded.

"They're monsters who escaped from their masters and became wild…"

"_**Wrong, human! We became **__**free**__**!**_"

We looked up to see a blue and white canine creature glaring down at us. Soon, it jumped down and landed in front of us, and a gust of wind – much stronger than the first – pushed against us. Both Suezo and I were pushed backwards with such force that we lost our footing and flew back…

…Only to be caught by Golem. Genki's hat had been blown off too, apparently; I noticed it on top of Suezo's head, but I quickly turned my attention back to the canines. Soon, the wind died down.

The red canine growled, "We are now our own masters…"

The green one chimed in, "Free from orders; free from masters! Free…like the wind…"

Holly looked shocked.

"You're Tiger of the Wind…!"

"Oh, boy…this gets worse and worse!"

"Tiger of the Wind, huh? Well, listen, I'm Genki of the Air. And you don't scare me at all!"

"Mind your manners, Genki. You've been warned…"

"We're on a mission here, and you're not going to stop us! Kiss the sky, Mocchi!"

"Mocchi~!"

The two leapt up into the air…

…Only to land on their faces.

I looked at Holly as she spoke, fear evident in her voice.

"You don't understand, Genki…He's _Tiger of the Wind_…I think we should surrender now…or we'll be lost…in a tornado of destruction…"

"…So…I see that even small children have heard of me now…"

"Well, _**Mr. Monster of the Wind**_, we've come a long way and we're not going to give up. We've got no quarrel with you unless you stand in our way."

"Chi!"

"Genki…"

"Oh, great…"

"Foolish boy. You don't know when to stop! _**Come on**_…"

I watched as Genki put on his rollerblades, feeling a spark of eagerness and energy.

"I'm there!"

"Chi!"

I leapt out of Golem's hand and rushed forward, soon at Genki's side. As we got close to Tiger of the Wind, the canine suddenly let out a mighty roar…

We gasped in shock and struggled to stay on our feet – well, I kneeled and dug my fingers into the ground to prevent myself from being knocked back again – and Tiger took this time to strike.

I could only watch in terror and struggle to stay rooted in place as the canine monster rushed forward with blinding speed…

At the last moment, Tiger twisted his body and hit all three of us with amazing force. All three of us were sent flying into a rock wall with a crash. After a few seconds, we slid down the wall; had we been defeated so easily?

"Genki…! Mocchi…! Antlan…!"

I heard Holly's cry of concern and Golem's roar.

"It's not smart to go against the Tigers of the Wind…"

Soon, I heard Tiger speak.

"I went easy on them. The wind could've been…much worse…"

I opened my eyes to see the Tigers rummaging through our supplies, looking for something…

"Grr…I don't see it here…"

Holly smiled nervously.

"Oh, well…! We don't…have much…of anything…!"

"Are you _**sure**_? There's _**nothing more**_?"

Suezo shook his head.

"…Open up!"

Suezo stuck his tongue out…revealing nothing.

"…Lift up your tongue!"

Suezo opened his mouth, lifting his tongue as instructed. Again, nothing was there.

"Grrr…stick out your tongue!"

Again, nothing.

"Grrrr…! Under again!"

Still, nothing.

"Now out again!"

Once more, nothing.

"Under again!"

Nothing still.

I sweatdropped.

_How much longer is this Tiger going to play this game…?_

"…Now show me under~!"

Suezo opened his mouth one last time…

_Oh, no! Holly's stone!_

There, on his tongue, was the stone that Holly had been using to guide us. There was a pause before Suezo shouted.

"Hey, that's not fair!"

Tiger of the Wind picked up the stone with one of his horns, grinning.

"_**This**_ is what we wanted…"

We heard Golem whisper to Suezo, "Nice try."

I looked at the stone sadly; the Tigers were going to take it and…

…_Wait, what…?_

The stone was glowing bright red as it came in contact with Tiger's fur. I watched as Holly slowly walked up to him.

"Please return the stone to me…"

Tiger grinned.

"Well, it's a matter of face. You see, we can't just walk away and take nothing…"

We looked on, horrified.

…_Wait a minute…_

I heard Genki speak.

"Sure ya can!"

We turned to look at our leader.

"One more time…and this time, it's personal."

I looked at Tiger, making eye-to-eye contact, grinning.

"Yeah…Unless you're a _**coward**_…"

Tiger's eyes widened at my taunt…and then he got a smug expression on his face.

"Genki…! Mocchi…! Antlan…! Please, don't…!"

We ignored Holly's protest, leaping forward at Tiger…

Mocchi was sent flying into the sky, I was knocked into a wall several feet away, and Tiger landed on Genki.

"_**Listen up, punk, and listen up good**_…"

"Tiger, please let him go…"

"…Why don't you just get on with it? I'm not afraid of you…"

"…Well, maybe you _**should be**_. You're a very brave…and very foolish little human…the same goes for that little monster over there."

He gestured towards me with his muzzle.

"You rush in, headfirst, without bothering to think of the consequences…You don't realize that, sometimes, bravery isn't enough. Life can be hard, little human; hard and unfair. You and the monster must know this."

I stared, speechless. Genki shut his eyes, shedding one lone tear.

"_**Don't…be…reckless**_."

He got off of Genki, continuing.

"You both are young, brave, and have good hearts…but that isn't enough."

I watched as he glanced at us, getting ready to leave.

"I know that better than anyone…"

He looked at his pack.

"Let's go!"

All of them took off, taking Holly's stone with them. I forced myself to stand, watching as their figures got smaller and smaller…

…_Oh, no…_

"…Are you guys okay?"

I looked up to see Holly looking at us – Genki had gotten up, looking sad and wiping at his eyes – and I found myself looking away.

"…"

"…"

"Genki…Antlan…"

…_We have to be strong…We can't let this get to us…_

The both of us turned back to Holly. Genki grinned and I smiled.

"I, uh…must've had a piece of sand in my eye."

I gave a thumbs up, winking.

"I'm fine."

The others smiled back, relieved.

"Now let's find Mocchi and get outta here."

"He's probably off sleeping somewhere."

At Suezo's statement, everyone laughed…

xxx

"I can't see _**anything**_…"

I frowned. None of us could see where the Tigers had gone – even with the telescope that Holly was using – and it was discouraging.

"I see them!"

We turned to Suezo as he spoke.

"There's a whole bunch of them…"

"Where are they headed?"

"Must be their home base…"

Suezo paused.

"Hey! Who's that?"

Holly looked through the telescope again and gasped.

"It's the Baddies!"

"We have to hurry! Tiger and his pack are in danger!"

Everyone looked at me and nodded. With little hesitation, we rushed off in the direction of where the Wild Bunch had gone.

xxx

We ran as fast as we could, hoping to make it in time to…

"…What's this…?"

We skidded to a halt, shocked at the scene before us.

"…I've never seen it before…"

In front of us lay many disks held up by roots.

…_Lost disks…_

"I don't like this…"

_Neither do I, Suezo…_

"Chi…!"

We heard Mocchi give a cry of shock and sadness. We glanced back at the pink monster, rushing to see what he was looking at near the edge of a nearby cliff.

…_!_

On a ledge several feet below us lay the leader of the Wild Bunch…Tiger of the Wind. I heard everyone else gasp, but I was somewhat relieved; after all, he was not among the other lost monsters. He was unconscious, but that was better than being a lost disk.

"It's that Tiger guy!"

We looked at each other, knowing what had to be done.

xxx

Soon, darkness fell, and we set up camp. A campfire was made, and I helped set up the sleeping bags. I didn't know how to feel; Tiger was alive, but, from what we had seen, his pack was gone. All of his friends, his teammates, his family…they were all lost…

After setting up the sleeping bags, I sat in front of the fire, thinking deeply…

"…Where am I?"

I looked up. Tiger had regained consciousness, not at all happy at the sight of us. I smiled anyway; after all, he was fine now…right? The injured monster struggled to stand, forcing himself to get back on his feet. Genki gasped.

"Hold on, you have to take it easy!"

Tiger collapsed, much to our dismay.

"Hey…!"

The monster glanced at us.

"If you're looking for the magic stone, Genki, the Dinos took it. There, now you can leave me to my fate."

Holly walked over to him, smiling.

"Just be still. It's time to change your bandages, okay? Here…I have some medicine…"

I smiled as Holly held up a medicine bottle, being gentle and kind…

…Only for Tiger to knock it away. The rest of us looked on, shocked. Suezo growled.

"That wasn't nice!"

"I don't accept help from _**humans**_!"

I frowned. He had practically spit out the last word with hatred…

I watched as Genki picked up the medicine bottle.

"Humans? My name is Genki. Remember when you gave me that speech about being reckless a while ago?"

He walked over to Tiger, smiling, and sat down in front of the monster.

"Well, Tiger, it's your turn to listen. Please allow us to be your friends."

Tiger growled.

"Maybe we can help each other."

This time, Tiger glanced away. Genki took advantage of the moment and began to change Tiger's bandages, applying the medicine as well.

"Maybe we aren't…who you think we are."

Soon, he finished, closing the medicine bottle.

"There, that should do it. 'kay?"

Tiger turned away, laying on his side, getting ready to sleep.

"…Thank you, human. Thank you, Genki."

Holly and Genki looked at each other, smiling, and I knew what they were thinking.

_They gained Tiger's trust, didn't they? Hopefully we can put aside what had been done and become friends…_

After a while, everyone began to fall asleep one by one. However, I was unable to sleep, so I sat in front of the fire with Genki, thinking…

"…Something on your mind?"

Somewhat startled, I glanced up at our leader. He was looking at me, curious. I looked at him before lowering my head and closing my eyes.

"…"

"…Antlan…?"

"…It's nothing, Genki."

"…But…"

I smiled, opening my eyes to see him looking at me with confusion.

"It's nothing. Besides, isn't it time to change Tiger's bandages? Unless you want me to do it…but I don't think he'd be too happy if I did."

Genki nodded, still confused, but left my side to do his task.

…_Genki has a way with monsters, doesn't he? He does everything he can to ensure our safety, and he does his best to make us happy…His kindness is remarkable…We couldn't be in better hands._

"There ya go."

After a moment, Genki returned to my side, sitting in front of the fire with me. I stared at the flames, wondering…

"…Why are you…journeying?"

We looked back at Tiger, who had regained consciousness again. We smiled, and Genki spoke up.

"Good, you're awake."

"Answer me! This is not your world…These are not…your battles!"

"If we can revive the Phoenix from the mystery disk, all of the bad monsters will become good monsters. Even Moo."

"So, you plan to battle Moo, do you?"

"Uh-huh."

"Once, I was as reckless as you, Genki…Antlan…"

We looked at Tiger, confused.

"Once, I had a younger brother…We did everything together, had every sort of adventure. Always together. Life was hard. We did everything that we needed to survive. Time passed and many miles passed. We joined with others, all of us cast out by humans. Together, we became family. Until…Moo."

We stared, shocked.

"…And your brother…?"

"Gone forever."

The pain in his voice made me frown, and Genki and I turned back to look at the fire.

"…It's not fair."

I stared at the flames once more, feeling determined…

xxx

"Let's get going!"

"Mocchi~!"

"Hey, Tiger! Join up with us! Whaddaya say?"

We turned to look at him, smiling. Holly spoke up.

"Help us, Tiger."

Suddenly, he turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. Genki frowned.

"It's your chance…to battle Moo…"

He stopped walking, pausing, before responding.

"There are some fights you cannot win."

We looked on, shocked at his words.

"My friends, do not confront Moo. It will go badly for you."

With that, he walked away.

"Listen to him! It's like he's completely given up!"

"His reasons are his own. We must respect them."

"Chi!"

"Now we must find the Baddies who still have the magic stone."

"But where do we start?"

Suezo chuckled, closing his eye. We turned to look at him before he opened his eye, smirking.

"Guess what? I've learned an interesting new trick."

We stared at him, confused and somewhat skeptical.

"Come on, we're waiting…"

I nearly jumped back as the eyeball monster screamed, "Golem~!"

The giant rock monster nodded.

"Ready…"

He picked up Suezo as the rest of us looked on.

"…Aim…"

Pulling his hand back, he shouted, "Fire!"

Suezo was thrown upwards with amazing speed. Glancing upwards, I sweatdropped as he quickly became a small speck in the sky.

"…So he becomes an aerial telescope for us, scouting the region with his vision…and then he comes back down and reports his findings. Am I correct?"

Golem nodded.

"They went that-a-way…!"

Suezo came back down at blinding speed, and I jumped back as he crashed into the ground, missing me by mere inches. The rest of us looked at him, concerned. The eyeball monster quickly got up, yelling.

"Thanks for the catch!"

Golem rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry…"

Genki laughed.

"Nevermind!"

He jumped off of the rock he had been standing on.

"Great trick, guys."

He turned back to us, grinning.

"And now that we know where they're going, we can recover Holly's magic stone!"

xxx

We rushed to the village just in time to see that the Dinos had knocked over several food stands, devouring what they could. The leader smirked.

"This is your special skill-testing question."

Suddenly, he shouted at the frightened townspeople.

"_**I need a mystery disk!**_ …An-y-bod-y?"

We grinned as Genki spoke.

"Mocchi! Golem!"

"Chi~!"

Mocchi leapt up in front of Golem and curled up into a ball. Golem grabbed him before throwing him with a tremendous amount of force at the Dino leader. We watched as Mocchi bounced off of the Dino's neck, grabbing the magic stone in the process. With his rollerblades on, Genki dashed forward and Mocchi landed on our leader's back.

"See ya later, alligator!"

The leader of the Dinos roared, pointing at them as the rest of us dashed off in different directions.

"GET THEM!"

I watched as the other Dinos raced after Genki and Mocchi, remembering my part of the plan and getting into place and meeting up with Golem. Golem and I waited at the edge of the village. Eventually, Holly and Suezo ran up to us.

"We got the stone!"

Suddenly, we heard Genki's and Mocchi's cries of pain. We looked back, seeing that the leader of the Dinos had knocked them down with his tail.

"How nice of you to drop in, kid."

We watched as Genki slowly stood up.

"I'll take you all on at once. Come on!"

I heard everyone else gasp.

_Has he gone crazy? There's no way…!_

Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind.

…_What…?_

We glanced in the opposite direction. A familiar figure was walking towards us, and I smiled.

_Tiger! He came back!_

Indeed, Tiger of the Wind was walking towards us, the wind blowing off one of his bandages. The Dino leader growled.

"What's this? Another piece of unfinished business for Moo…"

"You've had your way around here long enough, Dino. The party is over."

"For you!"

The other Dinos rushed forward, ready to strike at Tiger…

…However, he dodged all of their attacks with ease, running between their legs and rushing at their leader. Tiger was a blur as he leapt at the Dino leader, and time only slowed down as he struck. Time seemed to stop completely after Tiger landed, and the Dino leader had a shocked expression on his face. After what seemed like an eternity, the Dino fell over, glowing pink as soon as he hit the ground…

…The captain of the Dinos was no more.

The other Dinos looked on, frightened, before fleeing. Holly and Suezo rushed up to Genki and Mocchi.

"Are you okay?"

Genki nodded.

"Uh-huh. Thanks to our friend Tiger."

"Chi!"

Tiger gave a cry as he collapsed, and I rushed over and knelt beside the other monster, concerned.

"Tiger…!"

Genki rushed over as well, taking the other monster into his arms.

"You came back to save us…"

"Even if it is reckless…A Tiger's…gotta do what a Tiger's gotta do…"

I looked at him, feeling many emotions flow through me at once, and I felt as if I would burst.

"…Tiger…"

Genki held the other monster close.

"Please, Tiger…You've got to get better…You've got to!"

"Don't worry; I'll stick with ya…Genki…Antlan…"

We looked at him, shocked, before grinning. Mocchi giggled.

"Mocchi~!"

"Seven is such a nice, lucky number."

Golem nodded in agreement. Genki and I helped Tiger to his feet, and Genki talked to him about our mission. I looked up at the sky.

_Another friendship has been gained, another teammate has been won. Watch out, Moo! Here we come!_

_

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_

**While this chapter wasn't as good as the previous one, I'll do better on the next one.  
**


	5. Hare's Trick

**Disclaimer: _I still don't own Monster Rancher. I own one character in this story, however..._**

**Author's Note: _Sorry for the long hiatus. To clear up one reviewer's confusion, Antlan is male. That doesn't mean he'll be paired up with Holly or anyone else; he's just being the honorable monster that Antlans happen to be. I hope that this chapter is better than the previous one. Enjoy!_**

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"Okay, gang, let's rip it up! Great day, I'm ready! Let's go and get that Moo!"

I looked up at our leader from my position on the ground.

_He's so enthusiastic, isn't he? Just watching him makes me feel ready for action…_

The sound of Suezo's stomach growling caused the rest of us to glance at the eyeball monster. Suezo shut his eye, frowning.

"I get tired just watchin' him."

"Mocchi is hungry!"

I looked back at Mocchi, sweatdropping.

…_Well, he's still a growing monster, I guess…_

Everyone else sighed, slumping. Holly clasped her hands together nervously.

"The truth is…"

She took out the money pouch and opened it, pouring a single coin onto her open palm.

"…Ta-dum…This is all we have left."

Suezo grimaced.

"Makes sense to me, seeing as all we ever do is spend…"

"…Steal it."

I glanced at our newest member, shocked. Everyone else stared, confused and uncertain if they heard him correctly. When he noticed our gazes on him, he looked up at us.

"If I need something, I just take it."

Genki rushed over, obviously displeased by the monster's attitude.

"Come on!"

He grabbed Tiger by his neck fur, gripping harshly.

"If you really wanna be a member of this team, you've got to learn not to steal! Understand?"

"Well, who said I wanted to be a member?"

Tiger stood, clearly annoyed. However, Genki's grip was unwavering…

"_**WHAT?**_ Why, you…_**you**_…!"

The two growled at each other, Tiger trying to pull away from Genki while our leader tried to keep the canine from leaving. Holly smiled and laughed nervously.

"C'mon, Genki. Maybe you and Tiger will be nicer after you've had lunch."

Mocchi jumped up, giggling happily.

xxx

…_Wow…_

I stared in awe at my surroundings. We had made our way into a large city, and people seemed to be everywhere in the market area. The merchants were doing their best to sell their products, and a few monsters seemed to be purchasing and selling items as well.

"Wow, this sure is a busy place…"

"Look at that!"

I looked at where Suezo was looking. Quite a distance away from us was a large building of some sort. However, I recognized it easily; it was a coliseum, a place where gladiators battled against each other for fame and glory…

…_But it must be different here…_

"A coliseum…!"

We made our way to the giant building, eager and interested. When we got close enough, I noticed a sign.

'_Monster Battle Tournament'…? They battle monsters here? A test to see which monster is the strongest…to see which monsters have the skills to defeat the rest…and which monster deserves to be the champion…_

My smile turned into a frown.

…_As fun as it sounds, I don't know any attacks. I wouldn't get far…and I would let everyone down…I hope that they don't pick me to battle…_

I lowered my head, feeling a little distraught.

…_I wish that I knew some attacks…I want to be able to help out…but I'm pretty much worthless, aren't I?_

"Hey, there's prize money!"

I looked at Holly. She appeared to be happy at this. I understood why; whomever got in the top rankings would receive a lot of gold. While we wouldn't be rich, it would help us get by in our quest to defeat Moo. Suezo smiled back at her.

"Oh, goodie! This must be my lucky day!"

Mocchi looked up at them, smiling as well.

"Win some prize money!"

We entered the building, wandering through the long entrance. As we got closer to the inside of the coliseum, we could hear loud cheering and applause. When we finally made it to the end of the tunnel, we had to cover our eyes; the sunlight shone brightly, giving the coliseum a majestic feeling. Genki recovered first, running forward and stopping at a railing.

"Wow…!"

The rest of us rushed up beside our leader, amazed at the sight.

"Lots of watchers! Chi!"

"So many people! I'll bet the prize money must be pretty good, huh?"

Genki grinned.

"So, then…who's going for the gold?"

Suezo closed his eye.

"Don't look at me; I don't have enough moving parts."

He opened his eye, looking a little angry.

"I mean, if I got hurt, who'd be lookin' out for ya?!"

The rest of us looked at him, not amused. He looked back and forth at each of us, nervous.

"Oh, come on now, it was a joke…"

He suddenly gave a cry, his eye expression changing to an 'X'.

"All of a sudden, my stomach hurts somethin' awful…"

He turned to me.

"Antlan, you'll have to enter."

I sweatdropped.

"Wh-what…? But…!"

"I'll enter for us."

I turned to look at Tiger, confused, but relieved.

"Really?"

"So you are a member of our team!"

"If being on the team is how I get Moo, then I am. And the team's best hope to win is me."

I started to retaliate, but realized that it was true.

_Holly and Genki are humans and can't fight in the tournament. I don't know if Mocchi has any attacks yet, but it seems like he doesn't want to fight. Golem has the strength, but lacks speed…however, he dislikes battling, so he is not able to fight either. Suezo doesn't like fighting; he'd prefer to get someone else to do it if he can help it. That leaves Tiger as the only fierce competitor in our team; he has strength, speed, and cunning. He knows several attacks, too…Unlike me. I don't have any attacks, so I can't fight…_

"Way to go, Tiger~! Better him than me…"

We turned to look at Suezo, unimpressed.

"Oh, come on! Lighten up, people; it was a joke!"

Holly put her hands on her hips.

"You could show some appreciation."

I resisted the urge to cover my face with my palm.

xxx

Genki and Tiger had gone down to the center of the coliseum, registering into the tournament while the rest of us sat down near front-row seats.

"And, starting now, the battle for the prize money will begin!"

There was much cheering from the crowd around us.

"And, now, for our first contestant…It's Redeye!"

There was even more cheering as a man with his monster, a Redeye, did their best to look tough for the crowd.

"And, making his coliseum de-huh? This must be a mistake…!"

"It's no mistake."

We watched as Tiger calmly leapt onto the battlefield, gazing at the announcer with an intimidating stare. The human announcer sweatdropped before he eventually regained his composure.

"Th-there's no mistake…It's the one and only Tiger of the Wind!"

The crowd suddenly went silent, staring in awe, confusion, and shock. It felt like hours before two humans shouted.

"That monster is a renegade!"

"And a thief!"

Suddenly, the crowd was in an uproar.

I heard Genki chuckle.

"Lots of loyal fans, I see…"

I heard Tiger give a calm answer.

"You should see them when they're mad."

The announcer waved his arms nervously.

"Get ready, get set…"

I watched as Tiger muttered something to Genki, but I wasn't able to hear it…It must have been encouraging, though, because Genki chuckled.

"Yeah! Do it, Tiger!"

I watched the two monsters in the ring anxiously, vaguely aware of Holly and Mocchi cheering. Suddenly, the announcer made a weird gesture with his arms.

"Go~!"

In an instant, the Redeye took short hops from right to left in anticipation…almost like a boxer…

"The battle has begun and Redeye is showing some fancy footwork, but…"

Tiger stood there, eyes closed. The announcer gave a shout of surprise.

"I don't believe it! Tiger hasn't budged an inch!"

I watched as the Redeye's human companion shouted a command.

"Tail Attack!"

The eyeball monster leapt forward as the announcer shouted once more.

"Someone check if he's still breathing!"

Before the Redeye made contact, Tiger's eyes opened to reveal a menacing glower. The other monster stopped, sweatdropping before backing off quickly. The Redeye's human companion called out another command.

"Tail Attack! Give 'im your Tail Attack!"

The Redeye shivered, stuttering.

"Don't rush me…!"

"Agh, c'mon!"

There was a short pause before Tiger rushed forward at blinding speed, crashing into the Redeye and sending him out of the ring. I stared in admiration as Tiger calmly walked back to his place in the arena. The announcer looked on, shocked, before shouting.

"Tiger has defeated Redeye!"

The crowd cheered, and I watched as Genki and Tiger talked to each other. Tiger was the strongest monster in our group – that much, I knew – and all we could do was put our faith in him to win the tournament for us. I didn't doubt his abilities at all, but that didn't mean that he shouldn't be careful…

xxx

The tournament was quite obviously a very entertaining event; the crowd seemed to get into it more as the rounds continued and contestants became eliminated one by one. I found myself studying how other monsters attacked, what moves they had, and how well they dodged or defended. I noticed that most of them didn't start off attacking with their full power – those that did seemed to be overconfident and ended up getting eliminated easily – and the bigger monsters usually had much better defense (as well as a higher tolerance for pain).

_Well, they have to if they're bigger and slower; they can't leap around and dodge attacks like smaller monsters can._

I watched as Tiger took down his opponents easily and used very little energy to do so. It almost seemed unfair, I realized; mostly because Tiger didn't have someone giving him commands, as he knew how to battle on his own. Some of the other monsters had to rely on orders to fight, and weren't as capable as thinking through different strategies quickly and fluidly. I wondered briefly if I'd ever be able to fight alongside Tiger against Moo.

_…It's funny…It's like I've forgotten my human side so soon. This eagerness to battle and fight to save this world…even though I've never felt like this before, it feels almost…natural? If I were still human, I'd probably be completely useless, so I guess this transformation is for the better – assuming that I gain the ability to fight and defend the team when they need it._

However, as I watched Tiger roar at a Henger, I realized that our teammate seemed to command the element of air itself, using it very effectively and masterfully. He didn't just command the element; he could twist it and empower himself or manipulate it to make the enemy vulnerable. He was, without a doubt, much more skilled at battle than I probably ever could be. That, and it wasn't like the game at the tournament I'd won at all. No, this was very different from the game in my world; we commanded our monsters to fight, and they couldn't dodge or defend like the monsters in this world.

The monsters here had emotions, personalities, and thoughts, just like humans. The monsters in the game I was used to weren't capable of their own thought – their chance at dodging or the enemy attack missing was based on random numbers, like a dice roll – and I realized that I would have a lot to learn here. After all, the monsters here didn't attack the same way I'd seen in the games; each monster seemed to have a twist on their own attack in this world, unlike the typical attack animations in the game.

So, that brought me to think; _if I ever learned an attack here, would it be in my own style?_

I recalled the attacks I'd used in the tournament with my own monster; though it hadn't been a purebred Antlan like I was currently, I wondered if I could learn those same attacks. I knew that the powerful attacks, like _Vulcan Spark_, were way out of my league to learn. I could probably learn some of the less powerful attacks if I really tried, but it'd take a lot of training and effort on my part. I made a mental note to ask Tiger to spar with me later so I could try to learn something.

"It's time for the final bend! And over here, we have the monster who's defeated each of his challengers – Tiger of the Wind!"

I looked up in time to see Tiger standing in a battle stance in the ring, and an anxious (and somewhat nervous) Genki watching as the final opponent was about to make their entrance.

"And the final challenger – for the prize money – Hare!"

I watched as a medium-sized monster entered the ring. True to his name, he looked like an oversized rabbit. However, he seemed to be looking everywhere else and avoiding Tiger, soaking in the praise and cheering from the audience and waving and blowing kisses in what appeared to be a carefree manner.

"I love you people!"

I wasn't sure if he was just overconfident, putting on a show, or trying to give Tiger a false impression. In any case, just glancing at him seemed to ring warning bells in my head; something just didn't seem right with this guy, but I wasn't sure why. He seemed to be enthusiastic – _**too**_ enthusiastic – on the arena, as if he had preformed beautifully in a theater and was a well-liked actor at the end of a play.

_Or maybe I'm just being paranoid._

I hoped that was it. I hoped that it was just me being a little paranoid, that this odd feeling would clear soon, and that we'd have enough money to get supplies for our long journey. Taking in a deep breath, I exhaled slowly. We were here for Tiger, we had to have faith in him.

I watched as Hare walked up to Tiger – as if they were old friends reuniting – and grasped the blue-furred monster's front paw in a friendly gesture.

"So, you're the famous Tiger! Please, be gentle with me! My name is Hare!"

Tiger pulled his paw away from the other monster with irritation, and, judging by the shocked look on Hare's face, Tiger was likely glaring and snarling at him. Genki muttered something to Tiger, who replied back. Hare walked back to his spot in the ring.

"Let's get this show on the road! Come on now, we haven't got all day!"

I studied the two monsters, watching carefully and putting a hand to my mouth in thought. Golem seemed to notice, making a soft hum of confusion.

"Is something…wrong, Antlan?"

The rock-based monster's voice was softer and much quieter than usual, which I was thankful for; if my worrying and paranoia happened to be all for nothing, I wouldn't want Holly and Mocchi being pulled down with me. Suezo would probably yell at me for not believing in Tiger or make a scene, which really wouldn't help right now. But the bigger monster seemed to understand my concern. I made sure to keep my voice low and quiet.

"…No, I'm just thinking, Golem."

The other monster hummed again, looking at the ring once more.

"There is…much tension in the ring. That Hare is being…friendly?"

Was that it? Was it friendly competition between two finalists? I didn't want to make assumptions, but I didn't want to misjudge anything either.

"I guess so. Tiger doesn't seem to like it, though; he's getting very angry. He's probably not used to an opponent acting like this."

Golem seemed to understand, nodding slightly.

"Anger is not good. Anger clouds thought."

I didn't get a chance to respond to him right away, as I watched Hare say something before laughing hysterically. Had he told a joke…? Either way, Tiger's stance seemed to become even more aggressive. I knew that Golem was right; anger can cloud judgement and thought, and I could only hope that Tiger wouldn't get too angry to think properly.

"Well, Tiger entered this tournament for the team. We have to believe in him; he's our friend. Friends believe in each other, they put faith and confidence into each other, and their bond gets stronger."

Golem nodded again as the announcer got into his stance.

"Ready? Begin!"

Tiger rushed forward in an amazing burst of speed mere seconds after the round began.

_W-what?!_

Tiger had charged forward, but Hare had dodged it without trouble.

_No way…_

"Aaaaand Hare feints to the right…"

Tiger made a quick 180 turn in the blink of an eye, only for Hare to dodge his attack a second time without an issue. Hare backed away, his fists up and doing a few quick practice punches. He uttered something that only Genki and Tiger seemed to hear, and Tiger rushed forward again. Genki yelled something to Tiger, who seemed to ignore it. Hare swung his right fist around in a windmill motion, obviously winding up power for a definite knockout. Tiger leapt up into the air at the last second, the Hare's fist making a loud impact onto the floor of the ring.

The Hare was obviously shocked that his attack missed. Tiger seemed to float in the air for several seconds – defying the physics I was familiar with – before the airborne monster roared directly down at the grounded monster. The air was commanded with such intensity that there seemed to be a powerful whirlwind surrounding the Hare. The Hare shielded his eyes with both arms – though leaving him vulnerable, it would prevent dust from getting into them and possibly damaging his vision – and that's when Tiger struck.

The Hare landed on his back with an audible thud, and Tiger forced one of his front paws down on the other monster's chest. Tiger uttered something that I imagined would be intimidating. The unfortunate monster was quite frightened now; as he should've been, as Tiger's glare would scare anybody else in that position (including myself, I realized; in which case, I reminded myself to never get Tiger angry).

The Hare managed to scramble out of Tiger's grip and made a submissive gesture. I watched Tiger, who seemed to say something along the lines of being unimpressed. I couldn't tell what the exact words were because he was uttering it too low for the audience to hear. The Hare looked up at Tiger, an overly exaggerated saddened expression on his face, seeming to plead with him before making more submissive gestures.

The other monster put his whole front against the floor of the ring in a show of…forfeiting? Tiger lowered his head, uttering something before turning and walking away. I was puzzled now.

_The announcer hasn't said that the match was over, or that Tiger won. Didn't the other contestant surrender though? He was clearly showing a lot of submissiveness there…_

The Hare suddenly lifted his head, and I saw a smirk and dangerous glint in his eyes. I realized now what he had done; it was all a ploy – a dishonorable trick – to lower our friend's guard and get a knockout. Suddenly, it wasn't about the prize money anymore; it was about dishonor in the arena, something that I felt unable to tolerate. I cupped my hands near my mouth to shout to our teammate.

"Tiger, behind you!"

My cry was loud enough to get Tiger to look up at me as the Hare quickly got up and wound up his fist. Genki shouted too, though a bit too late as the punch made contact. I watched, horrified, as Tiger crumpled to the ground, unconscious. I heard the surprised gasps of my friends and Suezo's cry of, "Cheater!"

The Hare was bouncing happily from foot to foot in victory. I frowned. This was against the rules, wasn't it? That qualifies as cheating, right? Shouldn't the other monster be disqualified?

Apparently, the announcer was okay with it, and Hare was declared the winner. We got the second place prize, and, while it wasn't nearly as much as the first place prize, it would help us in our journey. I was worried. Not about the future, or myself, but about Tiger. Something like this wouldn't blow over easily, not when someone strong and intelligent like Tiger gets toyed with.

The winners were called up to the podium as we went down into the darker parts of the stadium to get Tiger. Golem carried him easily, bringing him away from the crowds of people. We watched from near the ring as the prizes were given out to each winner. Genki waved nervously at the crowd before accepting the bag of money. I heard Holly speak up softly.

"Hey, Tiger?"

I glanced back at our friend as his eyes opened.

"How're you feeling? You okay?"

He seemed to be a bit disoriented, looking around a bit sluggishly. I quickly looked back at the podium as the announcer announced the first place winner.

"The grand winner and undisputed champion – Hare!"

_Undisputed…? Did he use that same trick to fool other finalists too?_

My frown deepened. A champion shouldn't have to resort to cheap tactics to win. I watched as Hare got onto the middle portion of the winner's podium. He was laughing, an almost sinister smirk plastered on his face as he faced our leader.

"Too bad your monster couldn't cut it, kid!"

I heard a growl from behind us, and Holly's concerned cry of, "Come back!"

I heard Suezo mumble something as we turned to see Tiger leap over us, clearly aiming straight for Hare. Genki rushed up towards our angered teammate, trying to keep him from possibly mutilating the other monster. He seemed to be shouting something to Tiger, but all words were lost as I realized that we had to stop our friend from doing something dangerous. Mocchi, some nearby humans, and I latched onto Tiger to get him to stop. Suezo rushed forward and got a grip on the monster's tail, pulling him back.

However, Tiger pushed us all back like we were nothing. I landed hard on my thorax as Golem pushed a giant hand down on Tiger to stop him from going any further. Our friend tried to get out of the stone monster's grip, but to no avail; Golem was a gentle giant, but he could be strong when he needed to be.

"Calm yourself, Tiger."

I watched as Tiger refused to listen, focused on his enemy and trying to get to him. Hare made it worse by taunting him, egging our friend on. I felt sad – Tiger wouldn't be the same after this – as our friend's pride and reputation was ruined. He'd no doubt feel like a failure – which he wasn't and could never be – wounded and consumed by rage.

But he wouldn't feel like that for long, if we could help it. As his friends, we'd help him through it. We'd make him smile again.

xxx

We had finally calmed Tiger down, getting away from the stadium and out on an empty grassy field. Suezo counted the earnings of the prize money as everybody else looked on, impressed. I kept my gaze on Tiger, contemplating…

I heard Holly speak up first.

"Wow…!"

"Tiger of the Wind strong!"

"Sure is! He fought really hard."

"He's strong!"

Unfortunately, Tiger wasn't happy at their compliments. He stood angrily.

"That's enough!"

His voice was laced with rage. We stared at him, shocked.

"You seem to be forgetting that I came in second place."

"And we got a bunch of money!"

I frowned at Genki's comment. This wasn't about the money to Tiger; he had been humiliated in front of thousands of people, which wasn't something that would be so easily forgotten or dismissed. I guess, as a human, our leader didn't understand that. Genki stepped forward, somewhat annoyed.

"All you care about is yourse – "

Holly grabbed his shoulder.

"Come on, don't wreck it, you two! We got what we came for, so we could eat."

Mocchi chipped in, "Let's eat!"

Genki smiled at Holly and nodded.

"Yeah, you're right."

He looked at Suezo.

"So, how much money did we get?"

At this point, I focused my gaze on the ground. My previous thought of sparring with Tiger so I could learn to fight hadn't gone away in the slightest; maybe he didn't need a confidence boost with words, maybe he just needed to relieve some pent-up anger in a battle. How would I ask him, though? I'd need to pick my words carefully…

"Mocchi hungry!"

I looked up to see Mocchi holding his stomach and looking at Holly pleadingly. Genki joined in.

"Me too! So, how about getting us some grub?"

Holly smiled.

"Okay."

I watched as Genki and Mocchi cheered. I couldn't resist the smile tugging at my mouth; it was as if the happiness from Genki was contagious.

xxx

Our trek back into the town was somewhat awkward as we stopped within the market area. Holly had brought us to a vegetable merchant's stand, a large variety of healthy and unique-looking food items on display. The looks on everyone else's faces confused me; were these vegetables tasteless? I wasn't too sure, as most of the foodstuffs on display weren't familiar to me at all. Holly seemed to be pleased with herself.

"There, doesn't this look delicious?"

Suezo glared at her and shouted, "I wanna go to a restaurant!"

The human smiled back.

"We have to be thrifty, Suezo. The more we stretch our money, the less you have to fight."

Suezo grumbled.

"Goodie, goodie, goodie…"

"Chi…"

"I'm not hungry."

"Vegetables, schmegetables."

Golem and I remained silent. I really didn't know what to say; honestly, for some reason, I didn't seem to be too bothered by the vegetables. Golem didn't eat the same stuff we did, apparently, as he didn't complain.

_Or maybe everybody else happens to be picky eaters._

I wasn't too sure what to think, but then Holly put her hands on her hips, looking stern.

"Well, okay. Fine, then. I guess we'll all just go without dinner."

Everyone turned to look at her, horrified.

"Hey, guys!"

The all-too-familiar voice rang out, and we turned to see the one monster that had to resort to a cheap ploy to win a battle. Hare stood nearby, watching us with a smile.

"Hey, how's it goin'? I was looking for you all."

Tiger quickly stepped forward, growling menacingly. The other monster put up his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Woah! Calm down! I'm not here to start any trouble! I just wanted to talk!"

Genki stepped forward as well, glaring.

"Talk to my fist, Hare!"

"Hey, come on! That was then, this is now!"

He seemed a bit nervous – who wouldn't be in this situation? – one of his hands rubbing the back of his head subconsciously.

"I was wondering if, maybe, I could take you all out to dinner…"

Suezo glared at him.

"Who'd want to have dinner with…"

The angry sentence fizzled out.

"D-d-d-d-dinner…?"

Soon, he was leaning against the other monster in a friendly gesture.

"I thought you'd never ask!"

Tiger stepped forward – his paw making a loud _**thud** _against the ground – causing Suezo and Hare to look at him in confusion.

"_**What's the catch?**_"

Tiger's voice was dripping with venom. Hare quickly clasped his hands together in a plea, his ears lowered.

"Please, Tiger, I know that you're not very happy about losing, so I thought I'd try to make it up to you somehow! And I…I guess I kinda cheated in our match and my conscience seems to have gotten the better of me."

The monster fell to his knees.

"Forgive me! I promise you that I will never, never, never do it again!"

I watched, confused, as the monster lowered his body to the ground, sounding like he was on the verge of tears.

"Oh, and did I happen to mention that I am an orphan…?"

Suezo seemed to nod in agreement with the Hare.

"That is one of the most heartfelt apologies I have ever heard."

Tiger growled.

"I don't believe a word of it!"

"Come on, Tiger. Let's accept his invitation!"

I looked at Holly, wondering if I was having a nightmare or not; for some reason, she seemed to be the last of us (besides Tiger) to agree with this. Suezo seemed to be happier than ever.

"If Holly says it's okay, it's okay. Okay?"

"And I'll spare no expense!"

Genki looked at his human companion, an eyebrow raised.

"Think it's okay?"

Holly smiled.

"Yeah! It'll be fine!"

That's when I realized she had her hands clasped near the neckline of her shirt.

_…Is her stone reacting to something?_

xxx

We found ourselves being led into a large building – the equivalent of a modern-day, highly expensive, five-star rating hotel back in my world – and I couldn't help but admire how clean and big the interior was. Hare brought us up to the front counter, flashing the human at the desk a bright smile.

"We'll take the deluxe suite, my good man!"

The human smiled.

"Of course. Right away, sir."

Holly leaned close to the monster, whispering something to him. He looked at her, confused.

"What?"

She whispered to him again, and he just smiled.

"Don't worry about it! This little party is on me, see?"

His happy laugh startled me a bit, but we were escorted to our room. If the main lobby had been clean, the room was shining like a starry night sky. Not a speck of dust seemed to be in here, and I stared in awe. Genki and Mocchi looked at the view from the balcony, Holly and Tiger seemed to be looking at a different part of the room, and Golem was near Hare. I watched from a distance as Hare ordered everything from the whole menu, as well as some food for Golem, who seemed quite pleased.

_Can he really afford all of this…?_

Hare bounded over to me, a smile still ever present on his face.

"Hey, Antlan! What's the matter, buddy? You seem a bit lost."

I frowned, but didn't reply. I really wasn't sure what I could say to this monster; I didn't want to bring up what he did at the tournament, or the rude taunts and gestures he'd made to Tiger at the winner's podium. I didn't want to cause a scene, really, and I didn't trust myself to speak at the moment. He tilted his head a bit, looking genuinely concerned.

"Is something wrong? You can tell me, and I'll try to make it right!"

I blinked at him, still not sure what to say. He grasped my hands – his fur gave off an odd feeling against my own exoskeleton coating – and gave me a happy grin.

"Aw, come on, now. It wouldn't hurt to see you smile. Everyone else is happy right now. You don't wanna make your friends upset with your sad face, do you?"

_Well, now that he mentioned it…_

Everyone else did seem to be happy; Genki and Mocchi were laughing, Golem was smiling, Suezo was excitedly anticipating dinner, and Holly…

…Well, Holly agreed to this, so she must've been happy with it. Tiger was probably still a bit angry, though…

"…I don't know. It takes a lot to re-earn trust."

He seemed a bit disappointed – and perhaps somewhat confused – at my words, but he walked away, apparently thinking. Maybe he wasn't a bad monster after all; he seemed to be trying his hardest to make everyone happy. Genki and Mocchi had left the balcony by now, examining other parts of the suite while Golem seemed to be content standing and admiring the room from his spot. Suezo was pacing around the room impatiently, clearly thinking about filling his stomach. I didn't see Tiger – maybe Hare was already talking to him and trying to be on better terms – but Holly seemed to be sitting on a bed, looking a bit…distant?

_She's probably lost in thought._

At first, I wanted to go over to her and ask her what was on her mind, but I wasn't sure if I could help; sometimes, it's best to let people finish their thoughts rather than interrupt them.

_If I interrupted her now, would I be making things worse?_

More than likely, I probably would. Then I noticed her expression; she was frowning, looking a bit…regretful? I walked forward and sat down next to her, ready to ask her what was on her mind and ready to listen to anything she had to say.

"Antlan, do you ever…have you ever had second thoughts about a decision you made?"

She had surprised me by both acknowledging I was there and talking first. I blinked, a bit taken back.

"…What do you mean, Holly?"

I could see one of her hands clasping at her shirt's neckline, the other on the bed. I couldn't help but wonder if this had to do with the Stone guiding us or if it was about accepting Hare's offer, but I couldn't assume anything…

"Do you ever regret coming with us to fight Moo? By now, you could be living free in a forest with other monsters or in a nice home with humans…"

I tilted my head in confusion.

"…Do you regret unlocking me from my disk?"

She shook her head quickly.

"No, not at all! I just…"

"Is this about your decision to accept Hare's invitation?"

She looked a bit embarrassed and turned away slightly.

"Holly, you'd never misguide us purposely, and all of us know that. Choices are made, and we deal with things as they happen. We all have faith in you, so don't doubt yourself."

She turned to me, a bit surprised – and rather relieved – and opened her mouth to say something.

"Hey."

We turned to see Tiger looking at us. I could tell that he obviously wasn't pleased by the brown-furred monster's attitude. He motioned for us to hide by the curtain, and we found ourselves watching Hare happily humming to himself as he paced around the room.

Holly frowned.

"…You really don't trust Hare, do you?"

"Just keep an eye on him, you two."

xxx

It was a bit later when dinner had been delivered up to our room. Indeed, Hare had ordered everything on the menu, and I honestly didn't know what some of the foodstuffs were. Everyone sat down at the table, taking several things that looked good or that they knew would be delicious. I found myself nibbling at a few vegetables.

"It's been a while since we've eaten a good meal."

I looked up from my plate to see Genki looking happy. As I glanced around the table, I noticed that he wasn't the only one; Golem had gotten high-quality rocks and some sort of beverage – I couldn't tell if it was sand or mud – and he seemed to be quite content. Everyone else seemed to be very happy with their meal, too.

"Holly, my dear, is everything okay?"

I glanced at Holly, noticing that Hare had taken one of her hands into his paws with a smile. However, Holly looked a bit confused and startled.

"Just peachy…"

"Shall we dance?"

I watched as Hare pulled Holly from the table and began to dance with her. I was about to tell the monster to let the human finish her meal, but then I realized that Holly didn't seem to mind this at all; in fact, she seemed more than happy to engage in this activity, spurred on by Golem's words of encouragement. It was a bit weird, but maybe Holly liked to dance.

_Maybe dancing makes her feel less stressed?_

As everyone finished dinner, I kept my gaze on Hare. Maybe he really had felt bad about cheating at the tournament. Trust is difficult to earn after doing something like he did, but…maybe he was being genuine this time. Was Tiger wrong about him after all? Everyone else had forgiven Hare already, right?

_…I really should stop being paranoid._

xxx

_…I really should start listening to my instincts._

When I woke up early the next morning, something had felt amiss. I'd gotten up quietly, looking around the room carefully. Searching the beds, I realized that Hare's hadn't even been touched, and he was missing.

_…Why isn't Hare here? Unless he's just downstairs paying for everything already, this doesn't feel right…_

"…Antlan?"

I turned to see Holly looking at me a bit sleepily.

"Holly, Hare's not here."

I watched as the information took a few seconds to seep in before her eyes widened and she got up to look through our supplies. After a bit of searching, her face paled, and I realized that something was very wrong. Trembling, she turned to me.

"Antlan, please wake up everyone else – quietly – because I've got some bad news."

I nodded and went through the process of gently shaking Tiger awake as Holly shook Genki.

"Genki, Genki! C'mon, wake up!"

"Holly, what is it?"

"It looks like Hare has run off!"

A once-groggy Tiger snapped to attention as I finished waking up Golem. Genki yawned and began to turn over to go back to sleep.

"He probably went for a walk…"

Holly's voice trembled with panic as she uttered the words I wasn't hoping for.

"Sure, he walked off with our prize money!"

I cringed as Genki – sleepiness forgotten – sat up in horror.

"_**What?!**_"

xxx

We found ourselves stealthily sneaking out of the suite and outside of the inn, checking to make sure the workers weren't around. I heard Suezo whispering.

"All right, coast is clear."

As we crawled beneath a window to the exit, I heard Suezo mumbling.

"Gee whiz, I can't believe that good-for-nothing weasel scammed us like that…"

"Well, if you'd _**listened**_ to _**me**_…"

"Well, Tiger, if you _**knew**_ he was a bad guy, you should've _**warned**_ us."

"I should have _**what?!**_"

"You heard!"

I frowned as Tiger and Genki growled lowly at each other. To be fair, Tiger did warn us, but Hare had done a good job at winning everyone else over. Mocchi and Holly frowned as well, looking a bit worried.

"No fighting!"

"In case you've forgotten, guys, we've got some real problems…"

Genki crawled onto Golem's palm, the giant monster giving him a lift to see over the stone wall. The rest of us looked at him eagerly.

"Genki, is it clear?"

"…Well, I don't see anyone…"

He turned to us with a smile.

"We're outta here…"

His smile turned to horror, and the rest of us turned around. I felt myself sweatdrop; the workers were right behind us. They did not look pleased.

"Heh…Hi there…"

"Well, looks like the big spenders are checking out."

_…I can tell that this isn't going to end well._

xxx

_Poor Golem…_

Though Holly had managed to explain to the workers what had happened and that we'd go and get the money for them, they wouldn't let all of us go. No, to ensure that we'd come back on our promise, they'd made us leave Golem there to work for them until the debt was paid up. It wasn't fair, and I couldn't help but worry for our giant friend as he was forced to wash dishes in a frilly pink apron.

_…That's it, then. We're gonna bring that Hare to justice! For the honor of our team and Golem's pride, this will be done!_

I felt my blood pumping as we ran down the road.

"So, how do we find him?"

I skidded to a halt as Tiger stopped and sniffed at the ground.

"That's easy; I can smell that rabbit a mile away."

I smiled at this, and I heard our leader yell his approval.

"Cool!"

"Yes, I've got it! And, so, we'll just find our little rabbit friend, get our prize money back, and be on our way!"

"Hey!"

Genki frowned as Tiger laughed and sped off, leaving us behind. I blinked, remembering the other monster's speed and how much anger he'd harbored against that Hare. He'd no doubt reach the thief in no time.

"Hey, where'd he go?"

We watched as Suezo jumped up onto the roof of a nearby house, using his vision to try and find where Tiger had gone. Once he'd locked onto something, I heard Genki call up to him.

"Well, Suezo? Do you see Tiger?"

"I've found something even better; Hare's walking in that direction, and he's nearing a bridge!"

I couldn't help but grin.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get our prize money back!"

"Wait, Antlan…!"

I dashed off in the direction that Suezo had been looking in, feeling a bit happier now that we'd be able to clear our names and free Golem. I didn't doubt that Tiger would've caught up with Hare quicker than any of us, and I knew that he'd manage to pin the other monster down again. That didn't mean we could slack off, though.

xxx

By the time we'd gotten to the bridge, it wasn't held together anymore. In fact, it was snapped in half; obviously, Tiger had broken it to prevent the Hare from getting away, but…We looked down into the chasm to see the blue and brown figures below. Genki cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Tiger! Are you okay?"

The smile on Tiger's face was reassuring, and he managed to scale up the rocky walls with Hare clinging to him, the long-eared monster looking defeated and ashamed. This time, the expression on the monster's face was absolutely genuine as we made the long trek back to the inn. The workers told Golem he could go, and we were caught in a hug from our rocky friend soon afterward. Hare handed a sack of gold to the workers, looking deeply apologetic.

"Here's the cash."

"Yes, well, thank you, my friend."

"Sorry for the trouble."

We said our farewells and make our way down a path that would no doubt keep us on the right track of our journey. Hare had stuck around, asking us why we'd entered the tournament in the first place. Holly had explained it to him from the beginning, from the parts I'd heard about before up to the most recent events we'd experienced together.

"So let me get this straight. Now, you're gonna revive the Phoenix and turn all the Baddies into Goodies?"

"All the Baddies, and that includes Moo."

Hare's eyes brightened a bit in determination.

"All right! I'm coming with you guys!"

Genki smirked.

"It's a dangerous journey, ya know."

"I don't care! I'm not scared; I have to follow my destiny! I wanna fight!"

Hare chuckled a bit, to Tiger's annoyance.

"And what's your scam this time?"

"I've got no scam!"

Genki smiled.

"I'm Genki, and you're welcome to come with us, but I sure hope you learned your lesson back there!"

Holly nodded.

"And my name's Holly."

"I'm Suezo!"

"Mocchi! Mocchi!"

"Golem."

"Antlan here."

Hare smirked and turned to Tiger.

"And, of course, Tiger of the Wind."

He laughed again before turning back to us.

"And you know about me. My strong point is obviously this!"

Hare pointed to his head, indicating his cunning and intellect.

"Stick with me and you'll never have to think again!"

"And trouble will be endless."

Hare jerked a thumb at Tiger.

"The problem with monsters like him is they lack a generosity of spirit. Ha!"

"_**Says who, Hare?!**_"

"_**Says me, Tiger!**_"

I crossed my arms and tilted my head in confusion as the two growled at each other. Holly laughed nervously as Genki rubbed his head in disbelief. Suezo hopped forward, grinning.

"The pot calling the kettle black. How sweet."

At his comment, I sweatdropped. Tiger and Hare didn't seem too pleased, turning to glare at the eyeball monster.

"That's it! Let's get him!"

We watched as the two monsters chased after Suezo, and I closed my eyes, shrugging.

"Well, at least they've got a common cause this time."

Genki and Mocchi laughed, and Golem hummed in amusement. I glanced at Holly, who seemed to be much brighter now. I couldn't help but feel happier too; she'd figured out something, hadn't she? Now that we had a team of eight, I had a feeling that we'd have a much better chance at defeating Moo.

_Get ready, Phoenix! Here we come!_


End file.
